Semper Fi: Fall of Shadows
by Demon Spartan
Summary: Eric's back, but this time hes not fighting the Reapers. With Shepard being revived, Eric and Liara work together to put an end to the Shadow Broker. But in the world of information broking...who can the couple trust? Eric/Liara
1. Once a Soldier Always a Soldier

**A/N: I'm back! And with the sequel to Semper Fi to boot! If you read the preview at the end of the last fic then you know what to expect. But the preview could only show so much, so get ready for one hell of a ride!**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

_Eric Lachance, former Marine in the United States Marine Corps, fighting the war in the middle east in the 21st century. Until the day that changed his life._

_During an ambush, Corporal Lachance was brought into the Mass Effect universe. Saving his life, but also bringing him into a new conflict and war. _

_Joining Shepard and his team, they fought against the rogue Spectre Saren and his Geth forces. Uncovering that the Reapers were planning an invasion of the galaxy, with the though of mass extinction of all life in their CPUs. _

_Together, the team stopped Saren and the Reaper Sovereign before the other Reapers could be unleashed. He went from a Marine fighting for his country, to the hero of the whole galaxy. _

_In his journey, the Corporal also uncovered a secret involving himself that he had never knew. The Marine had been fused with the spirits of the last remaining Protheans at birth, inheriting their intelligence, use of their technology, and the power of a natural biotic. Everything turned out okay for the Marine...However._

_Dispite his knowledge of the universe through the games. Eric couldn't stop certain events from occuring. One of those...was the death of Commander Shepard at the hands of the Collectors. He tried his hardest and failed, but he knew the Commander would be back in two years. Everything seemed peaceful for the moment._

_But dispite how much he tried...war always seemed to find the ex-United States soldier. _

X

The elevator slowly rose through the levels of the space station. Onboard, Eric stood weapon ready as the lift slowly made its way to its destination. He was dressed in custom made armor; an Aegis Vest with stabilization gauntlets on his arms and stimulator conduits on his legs, the whole suit was dark blue with black trim. A recon hood over his head with glowing blue goggles finished the look making the man look like a soldier of death.

He checked over his M-96 Mattock assault rifle to make sure it was ready. His other weapon load out also consistsed of an M-29 Incisor sniper rifle, two M-4 Shuriken machine pistols, and an M-5 Phalanx hand cannon. It was a heavy loadout, but for a mission this important, it would be needed.

Four others stood on the lift with him also in armor and fully armed. a human, a Asari, a Quarian, and a Turian. No one could see what they looked like under their armor, but Eric knew them well.

After the Citadel council had disbanded Shepard's old team, Eric quit the Alliance military and went to Illium with his girlfriend/mate Liara T'soni, the Asari researcher on the team. After a year, Liara had made a name for herself as one of the most powerful information brokers on Illium. This had attracted the unwanted attention of a few bad people. One in particular was the Shadow Broker.

This had started a small war between Liara and the Shadow Broker, and Eric was there to back up his mate. The couple had gotten a ship and a small team put together to help fight the Shadow Broker. The team was well rounded, a three humans, a Turian, a Quarian, a Krogan, and an Asari. And that was just the assault team. The whole ship had a wide array of species working together to put an end to the Shadow Broker.

The ones in the lift with him were ready for the fight ahead. "I hate elevators." groaned the Asari. "It tain't that bad mon. Ya gatta take the silence while ya can." said the human with a heavy jamacian accent. "Just as long as we get to shoot something." said the Turian clentching his M-76 Revenant machine gun. "I know what you mean." said the Quarian pulling out a Mantis sniper rifle.

The Asari was Lazura Z'eno, an ex-commando with a chip on her shoulder. Though in her 450 years of life she hardly lost her temper. But she was a damn powerful biotic and deadly precise with her attacks.

The other human was Rez Kingston, a jamacian from Earth who became a freelance merc. The guy was crazy with hand to hand combat and was the teams comedy relief. The guy grinned so much his teeth were practically bone white in contrast with his dark skin.

The Turian went by Talon, he didn't give any other information other than he wanted the Shadow Broker dead for killing his father and little brother. Once a proud soldier in the Turian army, the guy was cold and calculating. A bit of a loner, never really hung out with the rest of the crew if he could help it. Though he had respect for Eric as a fellow soldier.

And lastly, Sev'linar vas Neema, the Quarian. He could hack almost any lock and any terminal. And his skills with a sniper rifle surpassed any that Eric had ever seen before.

The last two were Rico Santigo and Urdnot Zen. Rico was a mountain of muscle, and enjoyed ripping enemies apart with his heavy guns. Urdnot Zen was a proud Krogan warrior who had turned to being freelance to look for a good fight. Needless to say the two got along well, which was why Eric stationed them to guard their shuttle back in the station's cargo hold.

The lift came to a stop, the team got their weapons ready as the doors opened. The team stormed the corrdors beyond, several security mechs came out and fired on them. Lazura launched several waves of mass energy sending the mechs flying.

Armed men came next, dressed in something similar to Eclipse merc armor but where white with black trim and had red eyes in the helmets. Eric and Talon gunned them down with Sev firing well placed head shots.

A Krogan burst from one of the door up on the right and charged. Rez put his Tempest machine pistol away and pulled two long curved knives from his lower back. He lept into the air slamming both feet into the Krogan's face before driving both blades into its eyes.

They rounded a corner, Eric smashing the butt of his rifle into a man's face before firing a round into his helmet. "We gotta be geting close." he said to the others. "About 200 meters, take a right up here." said Sev checking his omni-tool.

Turning the next corner, the team came to a set of double doors. "Sev, do your thing." said Eric. The Quarian went to work hacking the door while the others covered him. "Where are all the soldiers? You think this place would be more heavily guarded than this." said Lazura. "Mon must not t'ink it important enough to protect tis place." said Rez.

"No, what we're after is more important than any creds to this bastard. He just thought no one would be dumb enough to attack one of his stations." said Talon keeping his eyes sharp.

The doors opened and the team stormed the large room beyond. "Targets just on the other side of that door." said Sev pointing to the doors on the other side of the large room. There were crates everywhere, most likely another storage room. Plenty of places to hide. "Stay frosty guys." said Eric as they tredded into the room.

They made it halfway into the room when two large crates split open. The large forms inside transformed into two YIMR mechs. "COVER!" ordered Eric. The team got down just as the heavy mechs opened fire on them.

"What do we do?" shouted Rez. "You and Lazura take the one on the left, me and Talon got the one on the right. Sev, fire off a couple of overloads to take out their shields." ordered Eric. The team got into place and got ready, "NOW!" shouted Eric as they attacked.

The heavy mechs' shields flickered as the rounds hit them. The YIMRs returned fire forcing them back into cover again. Sev launched overload after overload as the team got up and started shooting again.

When the shields were down, they targeted specific places on the mechs to bring them down. Eric pulled out his sniper rifle and aimed for the head of the one he and Talon were shooting at. Sighting it, he pulled the trigger. The three round burst from the rifle shattered though the mech's head causing it to drop to its knees. Its chest started to blink and a loud beeps echoed through the room, "Get down!" shouted Eric.

The team got into cover just as the mech overloaded and exploded in a large fireball that took out the other weakened YIMR that was standing next to it.

When the it was over, and the ringing left their ears, the squad moved to the doors and went into the room that was guarded. Inside was what looked like a small lab with various machines hooked up to a stasis container in the center of the room. "Is tis it?" asked Rez. Sev walked over to the main terminal and checked a few files, "Yeah...its him."

Eric walked up to the stasis pod and activated his comm, "Shore party to _Shadowed Light_, we found him. Rico, Zen, get ready cuz we'll be heading back soon." 'Good, I'm fucking bored down here.' said Rico.

Sev went through the terminals, deactivating the various machines so that nothing happened to the one inside the pod. "Hes ready for transport." said the Quarian as the pod hovered off the ground. "Lets get moving before we run into anymore resistance." said Lazura. "Too late." said Talon from the door.

The door they had come from had a line of 15 mercs standing in a line with various weapons, including rocket launchers, waiting for them. "Surrender now, and maybe we won't kill you." said the leader.

Eric walked out into the large room, putting his assault rifle on his back. Wisps of white mass energy started to gather around his form, "Take your best shot." he said as his eyes started to glow white behind his goggles.

The mercs opened fire. The energy around Eric flared brightly, he snapped his hand out and the bullets and rockets froze in midair two feet from him and his team. The mercs looked stupified, while Eric's team put their weapons away, they wouldn't be needing them.

Eric held the fired rounds in the air, he suddently felt blood trickle down from his nose. _**"Child you must release it. You are not fully ready to use this ability yet."**_ spoke a voice in the back of his mind. Eric flared his energy again which sent the rounds and explosives back at the mercs. Armor was shredded and bodies went flying when they were hit with their own bullets.

When it was over, Eric fell to his knees breathing heavily. "Idiot, you over did it again didn't you." said Talon helping the man to his feet and slinging an arm over his shoulder. Eric smirked under his hood/mask, "At least it saved us some rounds." he said with a chuckle. Talon shook his head as the team made their way back to the cargo hold with their target.

X

Making it to the cargo hold, Rico and Zen helped them load the pod onto the shuttle. "We ready to go?" asked Zen with a growl. "Not yet." said Eric as Rico and Talon took a large device off the shuttle and set it on the floor. Sev armed the device and walked to the shuttle, "Its ready, just hit the button on your omni-tool." he said taking a seat inbetween Rez and Lazura.

Talon got into the pilot's seat with Eric in the passanger spot. The shuttle started and flew out of the hanger and headed off toward where the _Shadowed Light_ was waiting for them. "We're at a safe distance." said Talon. Eric brought up his omni-tool, "Guys get ready for some choppy air." he said hitting a button.

The station behind them erupted in a massive explosion. The shuttle shook from the shockwave as they departed. "Damn...dat nuke was beautiful." said Rez. Sev made a slight bow, "Thank you. I'm an artist." Rico chuckled, "Yeah, artist in blowing shit up. Thats my kind of artist." he said bumping his large fist with the Quarian's.

In the cockpit of the shuttle, Eric took his hood off and opened a secure line to Illium. A beautiful young Asari materialized on screen. "Eric, did everything go well? Are you all okay?" she asked a little concerned. Eric grinned, "We're all good Liara. We got him, and on our way back to the ship." Liara smiled, "Thats good to hear. I can't wait to see you again." "Neither can I beautiful." replied Eric.

The Asari smiled, "May the Goddess be with you my love." the line disconnected. "Whipped." muttered Talon. "Shut it." said Eric. He brought up him omni-tool again and checked the status of the pod. The one inside was still preserved, good.

It wasn't easy finding Commander Shepard's body.

**A/N: One hell of a start. Like it said in the preview this will be a mini-fic, so there will only be about 8 to 10 chapters. But there will be enough action to make up for the shortness of it. Review!**


	2. Exchange of Hand

**A/N: Back again, and with chapter 2! Here ya go!**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

The _Shadowed Light _was an old Turian crusier that had been re-modified and given up to date upgrades to fit the missions designed for Eric's squad. Onboard, not including the strike team, was 12 humans, 5 Turians, 2 Quarians, 9 Asari, and 1 Volus. All of them willing to fight against the Shadow Broker.

The ship had more than enough room, and there were plenty of places to sleep. Eric had been elected the leader of the team and was given the captain's quarters on the top level. Said person had just come out of the shower in a clean set of clothes and sat at his terminal to assess the mission report.

The Shadow Broker was going to be beyond pissed to find out they had taken back Shepard's body and blown up his station. But that wasn't what was bothering the ex-US Marine. Their mission wasn't over yet. The _Shadowed_ _Light_ had to stop by a deserted colony and hand the Commander's body over to Cerberus personel so that they could begin the Lazarus project.

Eric sighed and ran a hand over his head. Long gone was his mowhawk, now he had short-spiked hair. Something Liara had convinced him to try, not that she minded his last hairstyle. He starred at the ceiling in thought, he hated Cerberus, he wanted to wipe them out as bad as he did the Shadow Broker, but they were the only ones who could bring Shepard back. There were no other options.

'Bridge to Captain Lachance. Your presense is requested in the CIC.' chimed a female voice over the intercom. Eric chuckled, everyone had taken to calling him Captain even though he was no longer military. Standing up from his desk, he left his quarters and went down the elevator to the CIC.

He arrived in time for the ship's lone Volus to be waiting for him, "Leader...the new upgrades...to the ship's steath systems is working...perfectly." he said with the occasional gasping inbetween his sentences. "Good. Keep a close eye on them just in case." replied Eric as he entered the CIC.

"Captain we are on approach to the colony world. Our probes confirm that the IFF transmitting above the planet is from the Cerberus ship. We're about two hours from reaching the planet." said one of the Asari technicians. "Keep me posted incase something changes." said Eric heading toward the cockpit.

Reaching his destination, anyone on the outside could notice that the seating was a little off base. A Turian cruiser, with a Turian at navigation, a Turian in the co-pilot seat, but in the pilot's seat was a human. A woman with red hair tied in a ponytail and a smartass grin on her face.

"Everything going good Cat?" asked Eric. Cathrine Francis was one of the best pilots he had met since Joker flew the _Normandy_. The scary thing was...they had the same attitude. "My baby's purring like a kitten boss." said Cat going over the controls with her light blue eyes. They looked out of the main view screen and saw the planet approaching, "ETA, 1 hour 50 minutes." said the female Turian in the co-pilot seat.

Eric nodded, "Good. Is there anything else?" Cat turned her seat around, "Jeez boss, you've been pretty stiff lately. When was the last time you got laid?" Eric chuckled, "Me and Liara getting intimate is no ones business. But if we're gonna go there, when was the last time you shared a bed Cat?" the pilot threw he heands up and turned her seat around not saying a word.

Eric shook his head and walked away, _"Her and Joker would get along great,"_ he thought to himself. "Let me know when we're ready for planet entry." he said over his shoulder. "Yeah, yeah." said Cat waving him off.

X

Riding the elevator to the cargo hold, Eric stepped out and walked toward the far end. Passed the shuttle and the various crates of supplies to where five armed men, including Rico and Talon stood by the pod containing Commander Shepard's remains.

"Captain on the deck!" said one of the men causing all but Rico and Talon to snap to attention. Eric sighed, "When are you guys gonna cut the Captain shit, I ain't military any more." "Let them have their fun. Besides, what the hell else are we suppose to call your bossy ass?" asked Rico. "Its my 'bossy ass' that makes sure that you and Zen don't ripe every god damn ship and colony that we visit apart." Eric fired back.

Rico chuckled and looked down at the pod, "So thats Shepard? I thought he'd be more...lively." Eric felt a pang of guilt in his gut. Memories of the _Normandy's_ destruction ran through his mind. "Shut up Rico. Thats the savior of all our asses in there." said Talon. The large man held up his hands, "Alright, I'm backing off. I just hope I get to meet the guy when those Cerberus bastards put him back together."

"You'll get your chance Rico." said Eric. 'Yo boss, your cleared for planet entry when your ready.' said Cat over the intercom. "Lets get to it boys." said Eric as they went to the armory to suit up.

X

The shuttle touched down on the grassy surface. The hatch popped open and the team filed out weapons ready. Rez and Rico moved the hovering pod onto the ground and started to push it as they moved toward the meeting point. "Sev, I want you to take a sniping position on that old water tower." said Eric pointing up to said tower. The Quarian sniper nodded and headed to get into position.

"Thinking about a double cross?" asked Talon. "I don't trust Cerberus...period. The Illusive Man's as bad as the Shadow Broker. Each have their own agendas, and are willing to sacrifice lives to get what they want." said Eric gripping his Mattock rifle tighter. "Den why da hell are we givin the Commanda to dem?" asked Rez.

Eric sighed, "Cuz their the only ones with the resources and the tech to put him back together." "Lets just hope Cerberus dosen't corrupt him to work for them." said Lazura. _"They won't."_ thought Eric knowing better.

They made it to what was once the town square where seven individuals were waiting for them. 'Eric, I'm in position. I count six in full armor and armed. The last one is a woman with black hair, she must be the one spear heading the Lazarus project.' said Sev Eric knew who the woman was, in about another year he'd pobably be seeing her on Shepard's new ship.

The team stopped twenty feet infront of the Cerberus personel. "Talon, Lazura, with me. Rico, Rez, Zen, hang back with the pod just in case." Eric ordered. "Got it boss." said Rico as the group of three walked forward. Three Cerberus agents walked ahead as well and met the other team half way.

Eric was right, Miranda Lawson stood before them with an arm guard on her left and right. "Lachance?" asked Miranda with her aussie accent. Eric gave a curt nod. "You know it would be good to see the one we're striking a deal with." she stated motioning to his mask and goggles. "My old Commander ain't a bargaining chip Lawson. Show some respect." Eric spat out. The Cerberus agent didn't even flinch.

They starred each other down for a few moments before Eric motioned with his head. Rez and Rico pushed the pod forward until the two Cerberus guards took it and moved it toward where their shuttle was waiting. "You did the right thing coming to us." said Miranda. "Piss off, I trust you guys as much as I trusted Saren. Oh, and heres some advice..." Eric removed his goggles and got in the woman's face, "If you assholes put something in his head that don't belong there...I'll personally hunt each and every one of you down...and slaughter you. Is that clear?"

His eyes flashed white for a moment making the woman take an involuntary step back. With a slight nod in understanding, she turned and walked with her guards back to their shuttle. "Hot..._damn!_" said Rico watching the woman walk away. "I know mon...check dat ass." said Rez also watching.

Eric shook his head, "Get back to the shuttle." he said with a heavy sigh. "You good?" asked Talon. "...yeah. I just want to go home and be with Liara." said Eric walking ahead of them. "Whats his problem?" asked Rico. "He just watched the one he looked up to as a big brother wheeled off by a bunch of xenophobic terrorists. Do the math." said Lazura.

The shuttle ride back to the _Shadowed Light_ was quiet. And on the crusier, no one saw hide nor hair of Eric the whole trip back to Illium.

X

Back in his quarters, Eric was in the middle of a live visual chat with Liara about the end of their mission. "Are you alright?" she asked concerned. Eric sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, "I wish there was another way. The Illusive Man's no different than the Shadow Broker in some aspects." "I know Eric, believe me. I prayed to the Goddess that there was another way. But its our only course of action right now. This universe needs Shepard, especially with the colonies disappearing." said the young Asari.

She was right. When the _Normandy_ was destroyed the Collectors had begun gathering humans. Over a dozen small colonies had vanished in the last year, and dispite Eric's knowledge about where their home base was, he was powerless to do anything.

"Your right...guess it couldn't be helped." Eric said with another sigh. Liara smiled, "I have something that might cheer you up." she said with a slight glint in her eyes. Eric perked up as she backed away from the screen and noticed she was wearing a black bathrobe.

With a sly smile, Liara undid the robe and let it drop, revealing her in a set of underwear that left very, _very_ little to the imagination. The thing was just strings and see-through material. Eric...couldn't find his voice, his mouth moved but nothing came out.

With a sway in her hips, Liara walked back to the terminal. Bending down giving the soldier a wide view of her cleavage. "You...my mate. Have a very _special_ reward waiting for you when you get home. We have been apart for too long, I intend to make up for that lost time." she said with her voice full of passion and lust.

Eric nodded dumbly. Liara smiled at her mate, "I love you Eric." the man found his voice then, "I love you to beautiful." The link ended and Eric let out a shuddering breath. Hitting a button on his desk, "Cat, how far away from Illium are we?" he asked. 'Dear god boss. We thought you were dead!' she said in mock surprise. 'And we're about another three days out.'

Releasing the button, Eric smacked his head off the desk and groaned loudly, "That woman's gonna be the death of me." He got up and headed for the bathroom attatched to his quarters he needed a cold shower. A really cold shower.

X

In a small corner of the galaxy. A dark figure sat behind a large desk watching several vid screens floating before him. A lone merc walked into the dark room, and stood infront of the desk. "Sir...uh. We recieved word that the station holding the package was...destroyed."

The figure drummed his large fingers on his desk. "I know." spoke a very deep, raspy voice. "I also know that Shepard's body is in the possession of Cerberus." The merc straightened up, "Y-Yes sir."

The figure brought up another screen showing the picture of a Turian cruiser fleeing the seen of the destroyed station. "I want that ship found. By any means nessisary." The merc gave a nod and fled the room. The figure narrowed his eyes at the frozen image of the ship, the same ship that had given him trouble for the past seven months. "I will find you." he growled out in the dark empty room.

**A/N: It looks like the teams being watched. What awaits for them in the future? Stay tuned, updates coming very soon! Review.**


	3. Home on Illium

**A/N: The next chapter is mostly dialogue and...other things. But it helps set the background story a bit. And for the record, I never read the comic depicting Liara's mission to get Shepard back from the Shadow Broker. This fic of mine is kind of my own ideas mixed with Liara's DLC mission. All in all, I think it'll turn out good.**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

Illium, one of the biggest Asari colonies in the universe and the center of most of the information trafficing. A beautiful metropolis full of various shops and romantic backdrops. But thats just the surface. Underneith, Illium could be just as shady as the Citadel. This is the same world the the Eclipse mercs have a strong foothold in. But the mercs remain docile on this planet, until they get a job saying otherwise.

The _Shadowed Light_ pulled into port and docked. "We have arrived people!" Cat shouted from the cockpit. "And your not using the intercom...why?" asked Rico as he and the others approached the airlock. "Been here way too long. I love my baby, but even I need a break once in a while." said the red head.

Eric walked up behind his crew and led them out onto the loading dock. "Welcome back to Illium Captain Lachance." said the Asari Consort that met them at the end of the platform. The crew chuckled while Eric sighed, "Thank you." he said politely as they went into the market district toward a specific office.

X

Liara was busy with a few new strands of information when she heard her office door open. Looking up from her terminal, she smiled seeing Eric and his crew walk in. "Its good to see you all. How was your trip?" she asked. "Same old, same old." said Eric. Cat bumped him in the rips with her elbow, "Hay! You should be bowing at my piloting skills."

Rico leaned over to Rez, "Consited?" he whispered. "Definately mon." Rez said back. "I heard that you reefer smokin, coconut cracking-" Eric slapped a hand over the pilot's mouth, "Enough you guys."

Liara giggled at their antics, she was reminded of her and Eric's time with Shepard and the others. "Your mission was carried out perfectly, and the credits for the job have been forwarded to your accounts." she said. "Alright! Now I say we hit up the bar!" cheered Rico as they started to file out of the office, "Eric, stay." said Liara stopping the leader.

The crew chuckled as they left, "Good luck with your mate." said Zen bluntly as he followed the others. Cat poked her head back in, "Hay boss, if she don't ware you out too much you know where to find us." she said with a chesher cat grin."

The doors closed, Eric turned back around and recieved a heated kiss from the Asari before him. Wrapping his arms around her waist bringing her closer, she wrapped her arms around his neck. They seperated after a long while, "That was needed." said Eric with a large grin on his face. Liara smiled and laid her head on his shoulder, "That it was...I've missed you."

Eric hugged the blue skinned woman tighter, "I missed you to beautiful." They stayed silent just holding each other for a while.

Eric pulled back and looked into her sapphire eyes, his grin back on his face. "I haven't forgotten my..._reward._" Liara smiled slyly, "Its at home." Eric's hands slid down her lower back and squeezed her ass. Liara gasped and her eyes went black, "Who says we have to wait until we get home?" he whispered, running one of his hands over the ridges on her neck making her shiver.

Liara started breathing heavier, "I'm...open for suggestions." Eric picked her up, her legs instinctly going around his waist as he carried her across the room and setting her on her desk. "When was the last time we did it in your office?" he asked lustfully, drawing the zipper on the front of her long dress down slowly.

"1 month...2 weeks...5 days..." she gasped out as her mate started kissing the skin that was exposed as the dress was undone. "Then we are overdue." Eric said before wrapping his lips around her left breast. Liara arched her back and moaned loudly in the semi-silent room.

She had enough conciousness left to hit a switch on her desk, darkening the windows and locking the door. "Nyxeris...take the rest of the...day off." Liara panted out. Using her biotics to practically rip the armor off of him, she grabbed the sides of Eric's face as her eyes went black again. "Embrase eternity."

X

In a small bar at the end of the market district, the rest of the crew sat around their usual table making idle conversation...at their leader's expense. "How long do you think they're gonna go at it?" asked Cat gulping down her shot. "I betcha he just drough her down on dat desk and went straight to it." said Rez "Lucky bastard." mumbled Rico. "Whats the matter Santigo, don't have the skills to get a female?" asked Zen. The human glared at the Krogan warrior.

Talon, Lazura and Sev stayed out the conversation like they usually did when the others got like this. "I don't think our fearless leader is going to be joining us tonight. Can't say that I blame him though." said Sev. Talon and Lazura nodded while remaining silent.

X

Back at the office, Eric laid breating heavily on Liara's desk with said Asari laying on top of him also trying to get her breath back. "Damn...that was worth the wait." Eric wheezed out. "Three times...and we wrecked half my office." Liara said with a slight giggle. Eric chuckled too, his body and mind felt numb from what they did. The desk, the couch, a chair, and winding back up on the desk again. She was right, half her office was a wreck.

Liara cuddled into his body a little more, the feeling of her bare body rubbing against his started to get him aroused again. "Eric, I don't think my body can go another round." she said smiling a little. He sighed, "My brain knows that...obviously my body's on a different wavelength."

The couple shared a laugh. When they managed to get some strength back, they got dressed and got a cab to take them home.

X

The next day, Eric awoke in the large four-poster bed of his and Liara's apartment. The warm body cuddling next to his told him that his mate was still asleep. Slipping out of the bed, he padded over toward the bathroom and started to shower.

The apartment was actually pretty decient. It was all open space, the bedroom area was on the second level with an attatched bathroom. The lower level had the kitchen, dining roon, living room, and indoor padio all connected together. (Think of Liara's apartment in her DLC missoin)

In the shower, Eric laid his head against the wall as the warm water hit his body. He had another long night filled with visions of the Prothean's past. According to the spirits, it was the only way for him to learn about them and how to use their knowledge and power without overloading his mind. But the visions were much more vivid than dreams. It took him a while to discover that they weren't dreams, but memories from the spirits themselves.

_"How long until I reach the memories with the Reapers destroying everything."_ he thought tiredly to himself. _**"We are sorry child, but those memories are coming very soon."**_ spoke one of the spirits. _"Its not your guys' fault. If it helps in the long run, I'll bare through it."_ he thought back.

Eric brought his head up into the stream of hot water. He knew that he and his squad had a handful of missions to accomplish here on Illium. They were tasked to track down the Shadow Broker's lead agents and dig up any and all data that could lead to his main base of operations. And hopefully the bastard himself.

Turning off the shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped back into the bedroom to see Liara already up and dressed. "Eric, you were in there for nearly an hour. Is everything alright?" she asked. Eric rubbed the back of his head, "Sort of." Liara walked up to him, "More visions from the spirits?" she asked already knowing the answer. "Yeah." he said with a sigh.

Liara looked down at her mate's bare chest and saw the jagged scar that went from his left shoulder to his right hip. The same injury that he had recieved when Sovereign's wreckage crashed into the council chambers on the Citadel over a year ago. She ran a hand over the scar gently, "I am so sorry Eric. I wish that there was something more I could do." she said with her eyes downcast.

Eric put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to look at him, "You've done more then enough Liara. You've been there with me through everything. You are my other half, the most important thing in my life." he said wrapping her in a hug. Liara returned it, feeling everything was right in the world. "I love you." they said simultaniously to each other.

X

In a familiar dark room. The dark figure pulled up a vid screen with readouts listed on it. His eyes narrowed, "Found you."

**A/N: Uh oh...cliffhanger. Can Eric, Liara and the others stay safe when they are being tracked so extensively.**


	4. Fighting the Shadows

**A/N: You guys are probably wanting some action...well here it is in spades!**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

Eric scanned the many rooftops through his mask's goggles until he settled on the rooftop of a nearby office building. "Dat de place?" asked Rez who was behind him along with Zen. "Yeah, the Batarian agent should be inside on the top floor." said Eric. "Then how do we get in?" asked Zen.

The leader enhanced his vision until he found something interesting, "Looks like the 50th floor is under renovation. No windows." "We can't just fly up dere boss." said Rez. "Thats why we're going to 'borrow' a car. You think you can get us up there without being seen?" The jamacian merc looked at the building a click away from them and looked back at Eric with a grin. "It can be done." he said heading down to collect a working car.

Eric nodded and pushed his ear comm, "Beta team, this is Alpha check in." 'Everythings good on our end. We hacked most of the terminals without the local authorities noticing.' replied Talon. 'This is bullshit, we should be kicking some ass! Not playing with computers.' complained Rico. "Stop your bitching. If it gets us closer to finding important data on our targets then its important." said Eric seriously.

Rico mumbled something on the other end before the line disconnected. "Alpha team to control, hows the data deciphering?" Eric asked in the comm on a different line. 'I haven't been able to decipher much from Beta squad's collection, but we are getting a little closer.' replied Liara from her office.

The use of codenames was a bit odd, but it never hurt. Especially with people being able to hack lines easy enough. Eric looked up and saw Rez bring up a hover car and park it ontop of the roof they were standing on. "We're heading to the target location now, Alpha out." he said heading to the car with Zen in tow. 'Good luck Alpha, be careful.' Liara said ending the link.

Getting into the car, Rez flew them toward the building, being sure to stay as far under the radar as he could as they approached. Hovering into the opening and settling down close to the ledge for an easy getaway, the small squad exited the vehicle and tredded toward the back of the room. "We going up on the lift?" asked Zen keeping his Claymore shotgun at the ready.

"No, we're taking the stairs. Can't afford to be discovered until we find the Batarian and get the data we're after." said Eric as he opened the door to the stairwell and started up. "Christ, we got 40 levels to go up mon." said Rez aiming his Tempest SMG up the stairwell. "Then we better get started." said Eric as he led them up the stairs.

X

In the market district, Sev was hacking into a nearby terminal while the merchant was away. Lazura, Talon and Rico kept watch to make sure the merchant didn't catch the Quarian messing with her station. "I think I found something." said Sev hacking into an encrypted file. "How long do you need?" asked Talon, his eyes focused on the crowds around them.

"About five minutes. Why?" asked Sev. "Cuz the merchant's coming back." said Rico seeing the Asari coming out of a doorway and was in the process of heading their way. "We need to keep her distracted so Sev can finish." said Lazura. Rico looked at his team mates, all were looking at him, save for Sev who was focusing on the terminal.

"Aw hell. Fine." he muttered heading over to cut the Asari off. Lazura and Talon watched as the large human walk over and start flirting horribly with the merchant. "I hope he can buy us enough time." said Lazura.

X

Eric and his team worked up the 40 stories to the top floor. Opening the last door at the top of the stairwell, they entered a slightly darkened hallway and slowly made their way toward the office where the Batarian was located.

They paused when Eric held up a clentched fist and peered around a corner. At the far end was a large set of doors with three armed guards standing outside. "We got Shadow Broker cronies outside the door. Three. Armed with assault rifles." he said leaning back around. "You gotta plan boss?" asked Rez.

"We gotta draw their attention. Rez, your the stealthiest one among us. Can you get in behind them?" The jamacian looked above them and saw an open airduct. He grinned before leaping up into the duct like and expert gymnist and crawling through the small passage. "Now what?" asked Zen. "We wait for him to attack, then move in fast." said Eric.

They didn't wait long. The duct above the center of the mercs hit the floor and Rez landed quietly on his feet with his knives ready. He drove the blades into the two mercs on either side of him and used them as leverage to double kick the merc infront of him in the chest sending him sprawling back. Before the merc could get up, a heavy Krogan foot crushed his head, helmet and all.

Rez pulled the blades out of the two merc's necks and wiped them off on the bodies as the others made their way to him. Zen wiping his foot off on the carpeted floor. "Whats going on out there?" someone called from the inside of the office. Eric nodded to the others and they all drew their side arms.

When the doors opened, their target was starring down the barrels of two different hand cannons and an SMG. "Wh-What is this?" he Batarian asked taking a step back. "You work for the Shadow Broker?" asked Eric deadly serious.

The alien's four eyes widened a fraction. Dead give away. "No...I-" Zen grabbed the Batarian by the throat and hauled him into the room, slamming him into the seat behind the desk and shoving him back against the large window behind it causing large cracks to splinter across the glass. "I'd start talking." growled Zen keeping his weapon trained on the man's head.

"What my friend here is saying. I think you should start telling us everything we want to know about your boss." said Eric. "I don't know what the fuck your talking about!" exclaimed the Batarian. "Look mon, we can do dis da easy way...or da hard way." said Rez taking one of his knives out, the blade glinting in the fadded light.

"He'll...he'll kill me!" Eric grabbed the Batarian by the throat and slammed him into the glass causing it to crack more. "What makes you think I won't." he hissed in the alien's face. "I know all about you. You sold out several people to the Shadow Broker. Their families were killed right before their eyes before they were executed themselves. All so that you could make a few extra creds, you sick bastard."

The Batarian looked nervious, "I'm not-" Eric smashed his hand cannon across the Batarian's face before planting it into the man's gut. "You can...and you will. Your out of time and I'm out of patience. So talk!"

"Alright...I...don't know much about the man himself. But I handle a few encryped files that have the names of people who might." said the Batarian. "Where." asked Rez. "My personal terminal. Its in the wall save over there with a few memory cores." he replied pointing to the safe on the wall next to them. Rez made his way over to the terminal, "Whats the code?"

The Batarian hesitated, Eric pushed the barrel harder into his gut. "2-9-1-0-5." Rez hit the numbers and opened the safe, taking the small portable terminal and all the memory cores. "We're done here." he said storing them into his pack.

Eric looked back at the Batarian and released him. "Thanks. You double cross me, I'll kill you next time. You can count on that." he said as he and the others walked toward the exit.

The Batarian glared at their retreating forms, "Not if I kill you first." Eric spun around and saw the alien hit a switch on his desk causing an alarm to blare through out the building. "You won't make it out of here alive!" he called out laughing.

Eric aimed his hand cannon and fired. The heavy round blew a large hole in the Batarian's forehead. The body was thrown out the damaged window and plummeted toward the ground. "We gotta get the hell out of here." he said as they ran back for the stairwell.

X

Sev got the data he was looking for. And Rico had a large red handprint on his face from his attempt to distract the merchant. "This had better be worth it." he gripped. "It is, this data should tell us the location of the rest of the agents, and the Observer too." said Sev going over the copied data on his omni-tool

Talon pushed his ear comm, "Alpha, this is Beta, we got the data. How are things on your end?" Things were silent before Eric came on with the sound of gunfire in the background, 'Hostile! We got what we came for but the bastard threw an alarm before we killed him!' he exclaimed. "You need backup?" asked the Turian as he and the others looked ready to help their comrads.

'Negative. Send the data to control, we'll meet you at the spot we agreed upon.' said Eric before the line ended. "Lets go." said Talon as they made their way to the meeting point.

X

Eric's Mattock kicked against his shoulder as he dropped two more mercs that were coming up the stairs. "How many more levels down?" asked Zen as his shotgun tore through a merc's armor sending his remains down the stairwell. "About five more!" Eric shouted back as they kept moving. The door on the next level kicked open, but before the merc could shoot them Rez had shot him in the head with his SMG.

They made it to where their borrowed car was waiting and sealed the door. "I got an idea." said Rez pulling out a few frag grenades and priming them by the door. "Dey open dis door. Dey go boom." he said grinning sadistically. "I like it." said Zen.

The team got into the car, Rez started it up and flew them out of the opening in the building just as the door flew open and a large explosion erupted. "Guess they won't be following us." said Eric.

Out from behind a building they passed by, a gunship baring the Shadow Broker's mark flew out and gave chase firing its machine guns. "Shit! But they will!" shouted Rez as the bullets hit their car.

The lighter vehicle swirved in and around various signs and buildings trying to lose their attacker, but the gunship stayed on them.

Several rockets fired from the enemy ship and headed straight for them. Rez slammed the controls and the car dipped and dropped toward the ground. Eric and Zen were slammed against their seats as they plummeted downward. When the rockets missed, Rez leveled them off, "Fuck! Don't do that again!" shouted Eric. "Agreed." said Zen who looked like he was about to lose his lunch.

The gunship reappeared and tried to get a lock on them. "How da hell are we gonna lose dis fucker!" shouted Rez as he swirved the car every which way. Eric looked out the bullet ridden back window before smashing it out with his elbow. He took out his Incisor and propped it on the back seat. "Keep her steady Rez, I'm gonna try and take this bastard out." Eric said looking down the sights.

It was hard to maintain a good target with the car swirving around. But Eric managed to get the gunship's cockpit in view. He squeezed the trigger, the three round burst hit the wing. "Shit." he muttered trying again. He fired again, and again, and again until he ejected the thermal clip and slammed in a fresh one.

He took several deep breaths and focused. Willing the gunship to be in his sights, willing the bullets to hit their targets.

Eric didn't notice that whisps of white mass energy leaked around him. His eyes behind his goggles glowed bright white. In his vision, time slowed down, and when the ship drifted slowly into his sights and he pulled the trigger.

The three bullets flew from the barrel encased in white mass energy and shattered through the reinforced windshield of the gunship taking the pilot's head off. The gunship spun without someone at the controls and crashed into an abandoned waregouse which promptly exploded on contact.

Eric took a deep breath and the energy receeded into his body. "Its down." he said leaning back against the seat. "Nice shot." said Zen. Rez nodded in agreement as he flew the badly damaged car to meet up with the rest of the squad.

X

When they landed in an open lot, the rest of the team was a little surpirsed at the damage done to the vehicle. When the three others got out, Rico was the one that asked, "What the fuck happened to you guys." Eric ticked them off on his fingers, "Asshole Batarian, mercs, and a gunship. Average day."

The now large team made thier way back toward Liara's office. "I sent the data to Liara a minute before you guys showed up. But theres something odd here." said Sev. "Show me." said Eric. The Quarian sniper sent the data to Eric's omni-tool and he looked it over. "...shit." he muttered before getting on his comm. "Control this is Alpha come in."

'I'm here, I was just going over the data sent to me by Sev.' replied Liara. "I was too. And we found something odd. The other agents are all male. According to this, the Observer is a female. Who gave you the data?" asked Eric as the others looked on in confusion.

There was silence over the comm channel. '...Nyxeris gave me the data. Nyxeris can you come in here a minute.' the line went silent after that. "Lets go." Eric ordered looking back at his team. They wasted no time sprinting back to Liara's office.

X

They arrived outside the door and found it locked. The sounds of a battle going on on the other side. "Sev, hack it." said Eric bringing his rifle to bare, the others following suit. Sev went to the door and managed to unlock it as everything went silent on the other side.

When the door opened, the team stormed in seeing the office in shambles, and the dead body of Nyxeris laying in a pool of blood in the center of the room. Liara stood infront of her desk powering down her mass effect field. "You okay Liara?" asked Eric checking the body. "I am fine. She tried to attack me. But her barriers need work. She was stationed to keep observation over me, had she been assigned to be an assassin, I would have never seen her coming." she replied.

"At least shes dead now, and we have the location of the rest of the Shadow Broker's people here on Illium." saud Lazura. "Its a start. Hopefully the data we collected is enough to find the rest of the agents, and maybe the bastard himself." said Eric. "We will have to go over what you collected more extensively." said Liara.

Letting the local police clean up the mess, the team went to the _Shadowed Light_ and started to put together a plan for finding the rest of the Shadow Broker's followers.

**A/N: Now that was some action. Can the team stop the rest of SB's people? Find out next time.**


	5. The Hunter

**A/N: This is going to be a short chapter, but it'll set the ground work for the next one.**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

Two weeks had come and passed since the Observer, AKA Nyxeris, had been taken care of. And in that time, the team had managed to track down all but one of the Shadow Broker's agents. The last one was a Krogan that they couldn't seem to locate on Illium.

The data they had collected from their other targets had proven to be very valuable, especially whet they had managed to get off of Nyxeris' terminal, and the personal terminal from the Batarian agent. It proved that the Shadow Broker's spy and information networks spiderwebbed all over the place. On dozens of planets, in almost every system in the galaxy. He had the dossiers on literally thousands upon thousands of people. And this was just from one of his agent's terminals.

"This data...theres just so much to go on." said Sev in awe as he and Liara went over what they collected. "Anything on the rest of his contacts? People who could lead us straight to him?" asked Eric. "No. The Shadow Broker covered his tracks well. He'd most likely trust the location of his headquarters to only a select few." said Liara.

The team had been using their ship as a base of operations since Liara killed Nyxeris. It was the only place secure enough for them to plan their next few steps. "So where do we go from here?" asked Talon. "Until we can find information about our next target, we're at an impass I'm afraid." said Liara. "I'll keep looking through the data. If I find anything I'll let you guys know." said Sev going back to the terminal.

Eric and Liara left the _Shadowed Light_ and walked back into the city. The rest of the crew was either out and about, or back on the ship leaving the couple to their own devices. "Wanna grab something to eat?" asked Eric. Liara smiled and wrapped her hand around his, "That sounds wonderful."

As they walked on, the couple didn't notice they were being followed from the rooftops.

X

After dinner, Eric and Liara headed back home. Liara resting her head on Eric's shoulder as they walked to their apartment. Along the way, a small group of Asari children ran by playing some kind of game. Liara smiled, thoughts of what her and Eric's daughters would look like crossed through her mind. She looked up at her mate and saw him watching the children, his expression, and thoughts, similar to hers.

They watched the young Asari play for a bit longer before continuing their way home. Thoughts of the future going through their minds.

X

From the shadows of a nearby alley, a figure tracked the couple with expert stealth. "I've located the targets." they said into a comm. 'Follow them, and wait for the right moment to strike.' came the reply. Keeping out of range, the figure followed their prey to the apartment.

X

The next morning, Eric was making breakfest while Liara sat at the table going over a few data pads. "Sev send anything?" he asked tossing another pancake on a plate. "Nothing yet. But we both know that if there was anything that was overlooked, he could find it." replied Liara. "Or you. Both of you have that eye for detail when it comes to data collecting." said Eric setting a plate infront of her before sitting down himself.

"You never did tell me how you learned to cook so well." said the Asari as she took a bite. "When dad died, I had to help mom take care of my little brother. Cooking was just something I picked up and got good at." said Eric. "What about when you fought in the war?" Eric shrugged, "They usually provided food rations. Though, the stuff we got on the _Normandy_ tasted better by comparison."

Liara tilted her head, "What if you ran out?" Eric smirked, "We did once on a recon mission. So we improvised with the environment." he took a bite of his breakfest before continuing, "We had to decide on either scorpions, or lizards. We went with the lizards and had one of the Privates in our squad taste test them." Liara scrunched up her nose, "That sounds...gross."

Eric shrugged again, "It was either that or go hungry. Besides, fire roasted lizard didn't taste that bad." Liara giggled, "Guess you might like the taste of Varren then." It was Eric's turn to look disgusted, "No thanks. I try to eat things that wouldn't eat me."

They ate and made small talk like they did every morning. Then something caught Eric's eye. A small red beam moved through the sunlight coming through the window. It moved until it settled on the back of Liara's neck.

Eric lept across the table and tackled Liara to the floor just as a bullet shattered through the window and put a large dent in the table where she had been sitting a moment before. They sat in cover behind a low wall, Eric reached into a cuboard and pulled out a Shuriken SMG that he kept hidden just in case. "You see anything?" he asked his mate.

Liara peered over their cover, "Nothing." she said as she started to gather mass energy around herself. They had no armor or shields, with only one machine pistol and their biotics, hopefully it would be enough. "Liara, cover me." Eric said as he made his way into the room with his weapon aimed out the window where the shot came from.

There were rooftops all around them, plenty of sniping positions, but no sniper from what he could see. "I think they bailed." he said lowering his weapon. "Definately an assassination attempt on us." Liara joined him, "Not surprising. We took out some of the Shadow Broker's top agents, including his Observer. So he will be more determined to take us out." she said glaring out at the rooftops.

Eric pulled out his omni-tool and contacted the _Shadowed Light_, "Talon, get everyone and meet at mine and Liara's apartment. Someone just took a shot at us." 'We're on our way.' the Turian replied almost immediately. Eric looked back out the window at one particular roof top and narrowed his eyes.

X

On the rooftop, an Asari in full armor looked through her sniper scope and saw one of her targets glaring in her direction. She grinned, most of her pray weren't as vigilant, this would be a good challenge. 'Were you successful?' asked her boss over her comm. "No. But rest assured sir, they will be dealt with." she said before putting her sniper rifle away and walking away.

She looked back for a brief moment, "Soon you'll make a mistake, and then, no one will save you." she said to the wind.

X

The crew gathered at the apartment as Eric and Liara filled them in on what had occured. "Guess hes getting serious now." said Talon. "Finally. Bastard won't know what hit him." said Rico. "We have to be careful. If there is an assassin after us, then we need to watch our movements more closely from now on." said Liara. "Agreed." said Eric.

Sev entered the apartment just then, "I've found something." "What is it?" asked Lazura. "When I was going through the memory cores that were recovered from the Batarian, I found a possable link to a terminal that should fill in the gaps of data we're missing." said the Quarian.

"And where is this terminal?" asked Eric. "I narrowed it down to the possable coordinates." Sev gave them a serious look, "It's in a Cerberus station at the edge of this nebula."

**A/N: Looks like Eric and his team get to strike back against Cerberus early in the game! But what awaitd them at the Cerberus station? And what are they going to do about the assassin? Update coming soon. Review.**


	6. The Trap

**A/N: Back again, and with a big chapter to boot! Over 3,000 words! Enjoy!**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

It didn't take the team long to locate the Cerberus station outside of the nebula, orbiting the moon of a uninhabitable planet. The _Shadowed Light_ got closer to the station, but stayed a safe distance just incase things turned south.

Onboard, Eric looked at the upclose image of the station in the briefing room, it wasn't that large, but big enough to house a couple hundred crew members at least. "So, how do we go about this?" asked Talon. Liara, who had opted to come along on the mission, stood on Eric's right looking at the station, "The stations defenses are offline, and according to our scans there is no lifeforms inside. We can safely assume that the station is abandoned." she said to the assembled group.

"Why da hell would dey do dat?" asked Rez. "They must have vacated when the station no longer had a use." said Lazura. "Sev, did you find out what the station was used for?" asked Eric. "According to the information in the memory cores. Cerberus used it for planetary observation. They were developing some new type of mining probe to collect minerals from orbit." said the Quarian.

"Then why the hell would they abandon the facility? It doesn't make sense." said Rico. Eric looked at the hologram of the station with the same thoughts. Something didn't feel right about this. "Cat, keep the ship at this distance. We'll go in on the shuttle. Be ready to pick us up if something happens." He said out loud. 'Aye, aye boss.' Cat replied over the intercom.

"Rico, Lazura, Sev. Your with me. We'll head in and look for the terminal. Talon, you and the others will be back up. Be ready to come in at a moments notice." Talon nodded to the leader. Eric looked to everyone, "Suit up people, we're heading to the station in half and hour."

X

Eric finished suiting up in the armory and headed toward the cargo hold when he saw Liara infront of him. She was dressed in a combat outfit she had designed herself. It looked like a short overcoat over a formfitting suit, and was white with blue trim (Her combat attire in her DLC mission). "Have I ever told you you look damn good in that suit?" asked Eric grinning under his mask.

Liara smiled, "Everytime I put it on." She walked up to him, "Be careful over there. Something doesn't feel right about this." she said seriously. "I know. But if there is a chance of us finding what we need then it has to be done." The young Asari pulled his recon hood up over his mouth and kissed him. "Come back to me." she whispered rolling the mask back down. "I always do." he said gently.

X

The shuttle left the _Shadowed Light_ and headed for the abandoned Cerberus station. Eric piloted the small craft, Sev sitting next to him making sure no surprises were waiting for them. In the troop compartment; Rico was checking his weapons, making sure his assault rifle, grenade launcher and rocket launcher were fully loaded. Lazura was doing a little meditation to keep her mind focused.

They flew in close to the cargo area, Sev remote hacked the large doors allowing Eric to set the shuttle down on the floor and cutting the engine. The hatch popped open and the team filed out, "Shore party to _Shadowed Light_, we're in." said Eric over his comm. 'Gotcha boss. We're still not getting any lifesigns other than yours so keep your eyes open. Talon and the others are waiting by the second shuttle should you need them.' said Cat.

Eric looked at the team, "Lets go." Sev brought up his omni-tool as they headed out of the cargo area, "The terminal we're looking for is on the top level in the main control room. A few of the doors should be locked but I can hack them open with no problem." The squad tredded down a long corridor and immediately felt off. "Eric, somethings fucking wrong." said Rico sweeping his rifle from side to side.

"I agree with him. This seems...creepy." said Lazura. They had a point, the whole situation felt wrong. The station was as quiet as a crypt, save for the sounds of the life support systems still being active. "Sev, if this place is abandoned, why is life support still active?" asked Eric. "I'm not completely sure. Maybe its just the auxillary power still being active." replied Sev.

They traversed the corridors of the station until they came to a locked door. Sev made quick work of hacking the door open allowing them to continue. '_Shadowed Light_ to shore party, hows everything going out there boss?' asked Cat. "Absolutely nothing. Are you guys detecting anything?" asked Eric. 'We're checking everything. Except for the stations support systems, theres nothing else active.' replied the pilot.

The squad entered a wide room with several doors along the walls and a large elevator in the center. "Are elevators still active?" Lazura asked. 'The stations auxillary power should be keeping them going.' replied Cat. Eric looked around and saw something on the floor infront of a locked door. The sign above read 'Medical Bay'.

Walking over, he got a closer look. There was a brownish smear on the metal surface that led under the door. "This ain't good." said Rico. Sev hacked the door while the others stood with weapons ready. When the door opened the team saw...nothing. Save for the medical equipment, the room was empty. "This is definately blood." said Lazura looking at the smear. "Then where are the bodies?" asked Sev.

Eric walked over to the terminal and searched through the files. "The last entry log was made about 4 months ago. The doctor on duty applied aid to a guy who broke his arm." "Sounds like this place was running just fine." said Lazura. "Then where the hell is everyone?" asked Rico. "If we can get to the bridge, then we can look into the ships security logs and find out exactly what happened." said Sev.

The squad left the medbay and entered the elevator. The lift started up toward the top level of the station.

X

The Shadow Broker watched the vid screen infront of him showing the four man team approaching the station's control room. "I have you now." he muttered darkly.

X

When the elevator stopped, the doors opened up revealing a small hallway leading to the station's control room. Keeping vigilant, the team walked to the door and Sev started to hack it. Suddently the door sprung open making the team jump back with weapons ready to fire. "That...was fucked up." said Rico.

They entered slowly. Terminals were set up in various sections of the room depicting readouts of the station's functions. Sev got on one in particular and started to check its contents. "Anything?" asked Eric. "Its wiped clean. Dammit. Whatever happened here someone went to great lengths to ensure that there was no traces." replied Sev. "But this is the terminal that we're looking for. Just give a few minutes to see if I can salvage anything."

While he did that, the rest of the squad walked around the room looking everything over. Eric walked up to the main computer terminal. Sitting in the chair infront of it, he started to go through the files, but as Sev had said all of them were wiped clean. No data existed. "Christ. What happened here?" he wondered outloud.

An alarm suddently went off and all the terminals shut down. "What the fuck did you do Sev!" shouted Rico over the alarm. "Nothing, the damn thing just shut down!" Sev shouted back.

'You have been a thorn in my side for far too long.' spoke a dark voice over the intercoms. "Who the hell are you?" asked Eric. 'You know me well Lachance. Considering you and your team have been hunting me this whole time.' Eric's eyes widened, "The Shadow Broker." 'Correct. I have had enough of you and your band of misfits. Its time to end it.'

The station suddently shifted, 'Uh...boss. We got a problem.' said Cat. "Whats wrong?" asked Eric. 'The station's defense systems just came online, and their targeting our position!' "Eric, this station's defenses will tear the ship apart." said Sev. "Fall back to a safe distance, we'll take the defenses out." Eric said into his comm.

'Thats fucking crazy!' shouted the pilot. "I'm not letting you guys get shot down. Thats an order Cat." Eric said sternly. There was a sigh over the line, 'Alright, I'm taking the ship back out of range. Radio in when your ready for pick up.'

'You may have saved your comrads. But you will not be leaving this station alive.' spoke the Shadow Broker. Several panels opened along the control rooms walls and security mechs started to enter with weapons drawn. The squad wasted no time taking out the mechanized infantry as they backed toward the door.

They exited the room and Sev fired an overload into the holo-panel sealing it. "Safe to say we know what happened to the crew." said Rico. The squad got back into the elevator when Liara came onto the comms, 'Eric whats happening? Cathrine's pulling the ship farther away from the station.' she asked a little paniced. "It was a fucking trap. The Shadow Broker killed everyone here and set it up so that we would be drawn in." Eric said as the lift decended.

'What can we do to help?' asked Liara. "I'm afraid theres nothing you guys can do for us. We're gonna bring down the station's defenses so that we can get out of here. We got this." Eric replied. 'Alright, good luck.' she said still sounding concerned.

"So how are we gonna do this shit?" asked Rico. "The defense systems run off of four power cells. We destroy those, we bring down the defenses." said Sev. "Sounds like a plan to me." said Eric.

The elevator decended to the lower depths of the station and opened up into a wide room with several scaffoldings stretching across the room. In the four corners of the room were four large power cells. "Thats them." said Sev as they entered the room.

Going to the first power cell, Sev hacked into the terminal attatched to it. The loud hum of the power cell went quiet as it shut down. "One down." said Sev. Security mechs started to enter the room forcing the team into cover. "Sev! Get to the next power cell we'll cover you!" Eric shouted over the gunfire.

The Quarian sprinted across the large room to the next power cell while the rest of the squad gunned down the mechs that came into the room. Eric caught sight of more mechs standing on the scaffoldings above them and swapped to his sniper rifle.

Sev powered down the next power cell and shot a couple mechs with his pistol before moving onto the next. Rico mowed down mechs left and right grinning like a maniac, "Come on you robotic fucks!" Lazura launched a singularity sending a couple of mechs hurtling across the room and into the wall.

Eric ejected the thermal clip from his sniper rifle and slammed in a fresh one. On the scaffoldings above them laid roughly a dozen headless mechs. He heard the sounds of the third power cell going down, "Keep it up! We're almost there!" he shouted to the others.

Sev made his way to the last power cell when he heard a loud thud behind him. The Quarian turned with his weapon drawn to see a YIMR mech unfold itself. **"Hostile aquired."** it spoke before shooting. Sev took cover as the heavy rounds tore around him. "I'm pinned down! YIMR!" he shouted across the room. The team refocused fire on the large mech the YIMR turned and returned fired on the squad giving the Quarian time to get to the power cell.

The large mech's shields absorbed the rounds, its large gatling guns keeping the team in cover. Sev started to work on the terminal attacthed to the power cell when a few rounds fired by a small group of security mechs coming from the right. Sev returned fire taking a few of the mechs out...but failed to notice the YIMR saw him. **"Target aquired."**

"Sev get out of there!" shouted Rico. The large mech fired its rocket launcher, Sev dropped to the floor under the explosive round as it struck the power cell behind him and exploded. The large power cell started to overload from the damage, Eric lept up to call out something but couldn't get it out in time as the power source exploded in a large flash of raw energy.

The team had been thrown back from the blast and their shields had been taken out from the energy. Getting to their feet, they noticed the YIMR and all other mechs in the room were disabled from the explosion. "Sev!" Eric called out. A groan caught their attention.

Running over, they pulled a chunk of debris off the disoriented Quarian, "You good?" asked Eric. Sev sat up and clutched his abdomen, "Shit, couple of my ribs are broken and my suit's breached." Lazura knelt down and sealed Sev's exosuit with omni-gel before applying medi-gel for his injuries. "Can you walk?" she asked. Sev shook his head before letting out a loud cough. "No...and I'm starting to get sick...my suit was breached too long..." he said breathing heavily.

"Eric, his temperature just shot up to 105 degrees. He needs to get back to the ship." said Lazura. Rico picked Sev up as they headed toward the elevator. "Cat, get ready to pick us up. And have the medbay preped, Sev's wounded and his suit was breached." said Eric. 'On our way boss." replied the pilot.

"Fuck, my shields aren't recharging." said Rico as the lift started to climb. "...blast...from the...power cell...fried our shield...generators..." Sev wheezed out. "Thats not good. We gotta be more careful here on out guys." said Eric drawing his handcannon with his free hand.

The elevator doors opened and Eric and Lazura walked out first to scan the room. "Clear." said Eric as they headed to the door leading back to the cargo hold. Rico followed still carrying Sev's weakening body. "Hang on Sev, we're gonna get you help." said Rico adjusting his grip on the Quarian.

They tredded back down the way they came in and stood outside the doors to the cargo hold. Eric hit the holo switch and checked the room, before they entered. "Guess we gave the mechs the slip." said Rico. "Lets not tempt our luck." said Lazura. They reached the shuttle and popped the hatch, Rico laid Sev down on the floor and Lazura covered him with a few security blankets.

"Dammit! The bay doors won't open." said Eric from the cockpit. "Must be the security lockdown." said Lazura. "There should be a terminal around here to open the doors." Eric looked around the cargo hold and saw a flight of stairs leading up to a small room on the second floor. "Rico, stay here and protect the shuttle just in case. Lazura, with me." he said as they headed for the stairs.

Keeping their weapons ready and they eyes open, they made it across the room and headed up the metal steps to the room. Inside was a large window overlooking the cargo hold and a terminal under it. "This must be it." said Eric as he started to work on the terminal.

After a few keystrokes, the read out for the main doors switched from red to green, "They're open. We should leave quickly." said Lazura. They started to head back to the shuttle, when the door they came through before opened and security mechs started to pour into the room.

Eric and Lazura fired on the mechs as they retreated. Rico fired from the shuttle giving them cover. Mechs fell with limbs and heads missing. Eric put his Mattock away and pulled his Shuriken pistols to give a wider range of fire.

Lazura emptied her assault rifle before firing a wave of mass energy sending the advancing mechs flying back into the hallway.

"Nice work." said Eric as they kept moving back to the shuttle. They were about half way there when a shot rang out. Eric spun around and saw Lazura stagger. Another shot rang out and the Asari lurched forward before falling to the floor. Several feet back, a mech was dragging itself across the floor with a Carnifex in its hand.

Eric flared his own biotics and lifted the bot into the air and crushed it into a ball before running over to his downed team mate.

Lazura remained face down, with two large bullet holes in her back. Eric dropped down and applied medi-gel quickly before flipping her over, "Lazura!" The Asari was unresponsive. "Eric lets go!" shouted Rico as he shot at more mechs that started to crawl into the room. Picking up the Asari, Eric bolted for the shuttle and closed the hatch. Rico jumped into the pilot's seat and started the small ship up as the bay doors started to open.

Eric set Lazura down and tried to get her to wake up, "Lazura...come on stay with me!" She opened her purple-blue eyes and looked at him. "I...got careless..." she said quietly before being struck with a large coughing fit, a glob of blood shot from her mouth and splattered onto the chest of her armor.

"Just hang on. We're heading to the ship now, the medical team will be waiting." said Eric. The Asari shook her head, "Shots...hit vital points...left...lung..." she coughed again sending forth more blood. "...can't...fell my legs...medi-gel...not strong...enough..." her eyes started to glaze over and drift shut. "Stay awake! Don't close your eyes Lazura, we're almost back to the ship!" Eric shouted.

The Asari looked up at her leader with a smile, "I...have to say. It was...fun...being on your...team..." Her eyes closed and her body slumped in his arms.

Eric felt the world around him slow down. He didn't even notice that the shuttle had entered the cargo bay of the _Shadowed Light_, or the medical team entering the craft and taking the still figure in his arms away.

He just stared...lost in the void.

Liara ran into the shuttle and started to shake him, asking him what had happened. He didn't respond...the gravity of what had occurred hit him like a freight train.

One of his crew...was dead.

**A/N:...Lazura's gone...Sev's critical...How can our Marine handle this? And will this fuel him to put an end to the Shadow Broker? Or lead to his own downfall? Stay tuned.**


	7. Having a Little Faith

**A/N: We're getting close to another good showdown. But...I won't spoil it for ya. Heres Chapter 7!**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

The atmosphere inside the _Shadowed Light_ was still, the crew, which was usually very talkative amongst each other was silent. In the mess hall, the assault team was assembled. Mourning the loss of one of their own.

Rico kept running a hand through his short-cut hair. Rez starred at the far wall blankly. Talon and Zen seemed to be in deep thought. Cat was playing with a fork absently. Liara was still, but kept making glances at Eric who hadn't said a word since the shuttle arrived back on the ship.

"How the fuck did this happen?" asked Rico quietly. "It couldn't be foreseen. None of us could have known that the Shadow Broker could have gained control of a whole station." said Talon.

"What's Sev's condition?" asked Rez. "Still critical. The doctors gave him a good amount of antibiotics to fight the infection, but it could go either way." said Liara.

Eric looked down at his hands, he was still in his armor, and the blood from his fallen squadmate was stained on his hands. "Boss?" asked Cat. Everyone looked at their leader who was still silent. He looked at them, his eyes devoid of all emotion, "Everyone back to your stations. We're heading back to Illium." he said, his voice sounding robotic.

Rico slammed his fists down and stood up, "For fuck sake Eric! We just lost Lazura! Don't you even give a shit?" he roared. "Rico-" Liara was about to speak. "No! Don't stand up for him! Do you even give a shit what happens to us asshole? Or are we just expendable to you?" Rico pushed on.

In the span of two seconds, Eric had the larger man pinned against the wall with his arm crushing into his throat, his eyes blazing with fury. "IS THAT WHAT YOU FUCKING THINK SANTIGO? AFTER ALL THIS TIME ON THIS CREW IS THAT WHAT YOU REALLY THINK OF ME?" Eric's voice reached a new level of anger that the rest of the crew was frozen.

Rico was wide eyed as he choked from the pressure on his airway. Eric's glare was as heard and sharp as ice as he spoke again, "Do you know what its like to watch your squad, who you've looked at as family, die while you were powerless to do anything?" he asked, his voice cold and emotionless. "Do you know what its like, to watch one of your friends get blown up by a nuke, and carry on the knowledge that you could have saved them?" His eyes bored into Rico's like daggers, "Do you know what its like, to watch someone you considered a brother, spaced after your ship was blown to hell?"

Eric dropped Rico to the floor, the bigger man grasping his throat sucking in air. Eric clentched his fists as he continued to glare at his squadmate, "And lastly Rico. Do you know what its like, to have a friend die in your arms...realizing it was all your fault?" Eric turned on his heel and walked toward the elevator, leaving his shocked and horrified crew behind.

Liara snapped out of it first and lept up to chase after him. "Eric!" she called just as the doors closed. She rested her head on the cool metal as tears slipped down her cheeks, "Goddess, dammit."

X

Eric kept scrubbing, trying his damnest to get the feeling off his hands. His armor laid in a heep at the foot of his bed while he tried to wipe away the feeling of his friend's blood on his hands. His hands were angry red and raw from the hot water and constant scrubbing, but the feeling wouldn't go away.

Giving up, he stumbled into his room and slumped in the chair by his desk. Putting his head in his hands he started to shudder. He wouldn't cry, he couldn't, he didn't diserve to.

His fault...Lazura was dead...Sev was in critical condition...because of him.

He clutched the sides of his head and screamed. Why didn't he think everything through? Why didn't he consider the possability of a trap? Why didn't he listen to his instincts? He was a fucking soldier! He was trained for this! Grabbing one of the dozen datapads on his desk, Eric threw it hard at the wall where it shattered in a flash of sparks.

Slumping back into his chair, his body went weak and numb, all of his strength gone in an instant.

The doors to his quarters opened, he didn't even bother to look up at who it was. "Eric?" asked Liara softly. She walked over and knelt down infront of him. "I can't do it." He said barely above a whisper, "I'm not meant to lead." "Don't say that!" Liara said grabbing his face and making him look at her.

The emerald green eyes she was so use to had dulled to a greyish-teal. "Their better off without me Liara. They'll just get killed...like everyone else." Liara pulled her hand back and slapped him hard across the face, he didn't even register it.

"By the Goddess Eric snap out of it! Stop doing this to yourself!" She grabbed his face and looked into his eyes again, "The others, they knew the risks. Lazura and Sev did too. The Shadow Broker is the one to blame not you. You are a great leader, you got the others out alive, and made sure that the ship wasn't attacked."

She started to cry as she gripped his face a little harder, "You are my mate. The only one I'll ever love. Please...I can't stand to see you like this. Stop trying to carry the weight of the universe by yourself. I'm here for you."

Eric shuddered. He grabbed Liara and held her tightly too him as he started to sob, "Why?...Why does it hurt so much Liara?" he asked. Liara held him, "Its because you have a good heart. And you try so hard to save everyone you barely have any strength for yourself."

Eric pulled back and took a deep breath, "I just hope she can forgive me. Wherever she is." Liara smiled and sat in his lap, "Shes embraced the Goddess. She is at peace. And I think she has forgiven you." The sat in silence for a while. Liara looked around a moment when something caught her eye. A datapad on Eric's desk that was a dark blue color with familiar markings on it.

Picking it up, she started to read the texts. Eric saw what she was reading and felt a little subconsious. "Eric...when did you start reading the Goddess' Holy Texts?" asked Liara a little surprised. "About a month ago. I never had a religion back in my universe, so I thought I would find one. There has to be a higher power over everything right?" he said chuckling.

Liara giggled and looked back at the text on the datapad, one sentence was highlighted. _"And as the cold grips of death reached for me...all I could feel was her warm embrace. Like a mother holding me in her arms. Whispering into my ear, 'Be at peace my child. For I will always be with you.' As I embraced the Goddess, I finally felt at peace."_

"We'll take her back to Illium. She diserves a proper burial." Eric said silently. Liara sent the datapad aside and held onto her mate. "Thats very honorable."

X

In his base, the Shadow Broker clentched his fists. It appeared that Lachance and his crew had a good amount of luck on their side to get away from his trap with only two of their crew taken out of the equation.

Opening a comm channel, he spoke gravely. "The trap has failed. Initiate our backup plan. And this time, do not fail." 'I won't.' said the one on the other end before the link cut out.

Pulling up a profile image, the Shadow Broker tapped his fingers on his desk. "I will destroy you...one way or another."

On the screen, was the image of a Drell by the name of Feron.

**A/N: What has the Shadow Broker got planned? And how is Feron involved? It'll all come together in the next chapter so be ready! Review.**


	8. Vital Data

**A/N: The next chapter is based off of Liara's DLC mission. But I've made several changes to it to make it my own creation. If you've seen or played the mission then you'll see what I mean. But you guys will probably enjoy this regardless.**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

Eric walked through the _Shadowed Light's _interior. They had arrived back at Illium and the crew had gone into the city to have some diserved time off. The only ones onboard were himself, Cat, and a few other personel. Liara had gone to her office to look over some data she said she had recieved the other day.

Sev had been transfered to the local hospital to recieve more treatment for his sickness. And Lazura's body had been taken to be processed for burial. Eric had made sure that she would be honored for her valor.

Walking through the CIC and heading to the airlock, the leader bumped into someone. "Oh, hay boss." said Rico. Eric gave the larger man a glance before walking around him. Ever since their fight after Lazura's death, the two had avoided each other like the plague. Eric because he didn't want to deal with it, and Rico because of shame.

"Eric." he said stopping him. "I wanted to apologize. I was...out of line." Eric paused at the airlock, "You guys are like family to me Rico. Don't forget that." he said leaving the ship.

X

Outside the ship, Eric was about to enter the market district when his omni-tool went off. 'Eric you need to get here quickly!' said Liara in a hurry. "Whats wrong?" Eric asked running to her office. 'One of our contacts just went missing.' she replied.

Eric arrived at her office moments later and saw her pacing around. "Whos missing?" asked Eric. Liara paused, "I attempted to get into contact with Feron, but there was never an answer."

He knew this was a problem. Feron was a good tracker when it came to information gathering. Granted, the guy betrayed them once or twice, being a double agent for both Cerberus and the Shadow Broker. But he was very reliable when the chips were down. "Do you know where he was last?" asked Eric. "Most likely his home on the other side of the city. Eric, he had sent me a message that he may have discovered the Shadow Broker's location through one of the Cerberus terminals he hacked into" said Liara.

Eric's eyes widened, if Feron found out where the Shadow Broker was, then they could put an end to him once and for all. He immediately pulled up his omni-tool, "Talon, Rez, suit up and meet me by the rapid transit station. I'll inform you of the situation when we get there."

He looked back at Liara, "I'll go find him." The Asari looked concerned, "Be careful, something must have gone wrong. Even more so if the Shadow Broker is involved." "He probably is. But thats never stopped us before." Eric replied leaving the office.

X

The hover car flew through the city. Behind the wheel, Rez kept his eyes open for anything out of place. Eric sat in the passanger seat, Talon in the back, all armored up and ready for a fight.

Eric had informed them of what had occured. "So what do you t'inks gonna happen when we get dere?" asked Rez. "Hopefully we can find clues as to why Feron was taken. Or at least what they were after in the first place." said Eric.

Arriving at the apartment building, the team noticed that there were several police units outside. Setting the car down, the squad headed up to Feron's apartment to find that it was closed off by holo-police tape. The officer standing in the door way stopped them, "I'm sorry. But only authorized personel are allowed here."

"Our friend lived here, can you tell us what happened?" asked Eric. "Someone, took your friend." said another Asari coming around a pillar. And from what the squad could see, she held herself like someone very high on the ladder. "Thank you officer. Your people are dismissed." she said to the Asari officer.

Eric and the others walked through the holo-tape and into the apartment. The immediately took notice of the dead mercs laying around the room. "You can't do that!" said the officer. "Already done." said the armored Asari. The police in the apartment looked at each other briefly before leaving the apartment.

"Tela Vasir. Special Tactics and Recon." said the Asari. "A Spectre?" asked Talon. "What are you doing here?" asked Eric. "When someone like your friend has enough vital data on certain things, its natural the council would send someone like me in to investigate their disappearence." said Tela. "So, I assume you had some business with your friend?"

"You could say that. Feron had data on the Shadow Broker." said Eric. "The Shadow Broker? Dangerous enemy to have." said Tela. "What can you tell us about the situation?" asked Talon. "About 2 hours ago, these men broke into the apartment and attacked the Drell. There was a firefight, mercs were killed. But we can't confirm or deny that he was taken or not." said the Spectre.

"Did anyone see anything?" asked Eric. "Nothing. Some people heard the gunfire and called the police, I was contacted soon after." said Tela. "Any idea where he might be now?" asked Eric. "If I knew that, I wouldn't be sifting through his shit. No blood, no body, so its safe to say hes not dead...yet." said Tela.

"Did you find anything useful? A note? Something he could have had before being taken?" asked Eric. "I haven't found anything to track him down. You and your crew must have known him from better, you think he could have left something valuable around?" asked Tela. "Let us take a look around." said Talon. Tela nodded and walked off to give them time to search.

The team split up and started to go around the apartment, searching for anything that may have been left as a clue from their Drell informant. The apartment wasn't that big, so it wouldn't be too hard to find what they were looking for. Talon and Rez started to check the bodies of the dead Shadow Broker agents foro anything useful.

Eric walked through the living room and caught sight of something. A small holo of the Drell homeworld. From the times he and Liara spoke with Feron, they had learned that the Drell had missed home dearly. It was the only thing honest Feron ever told anyone.

Picking up the holo, Eric turned it over in his hands a few times. On the back, he saw a small door on the back of it. Pulling out his combat knife, he wedged the small slot open and a small memory core fell out onto the floor. Picking it up he looked it over, "Did you find something?" asked Tela. "Memory core. Feron must have hid it before he bailed." said Eric.

They went over to the desk and inserted the memory core into the terminal. A small vid started showing Feron standing with his clothes torn and a pistol grasped in his hand. "Eric, Liara, which ever one of you gets this. Shadow Broker's men attacked before I could send you the data. I don't want this message to be intercepted, so if you get this, meet me at the Dracon Trade Center. But be careful...I don't know who outside of you guys to trust anymore."

The message ended after that. "If the Shadow Broker's men attacked him once, they'll try again. We have to get to him first." said Eric. "I know where the trade center is, my cars outside." said Tela.

X

The sky car landed outside the large building that was the Dracon Trade Center. The team and the Spectre got out and walked toward the building. "Liara, we found where Feron went." said Eric into his comm. 'Thank Goddess. What happened?' she asked. "Shadow Broker's men attacked him. He fled with the data, but we're gonna-" Eric was cut off when the first four floors of the building exploded sending everyone flying.

Glass and burning debris showered all over as alarms rang out into the night. Eric staggered to his feet, he could hear Liara yelling through the ringing in his ears. 'Eric? What happened? Talk to me!' He shook his head and pushed his comm, "The building blew up! I gotta go!" he shouted pulling out his Mattock rifle.

"They just took out four floors to make sure he was dead!" said Tela. "I'll take the car and seal the building from the top." she said running back to the sky car. "Guess dat leaves da floor up to us." said Rez pulling out one of his knives and his SMG.

The team moved toward the enterance, passing by the injured forms and dead bodies of those who were caught in the blast. Opening the doors and entering the main lobby, they saw the destruction caused by the explosives. "This is bad." said Talon checking the vitals of a civilian close to the door. 'I wouldn't take bets on finding your guy alive.' said Tela over the comms. Ignoring her, the squad moved on.

Stepping up onto the next level, they saw an employee of the center laying against a wall. "Mercs...came from the smoke...set the bombs...killing everyone..." he wheezed out before going still. "Hes got bullet wounds. Military grade hardware." said Talon. "This was more than just an explosion." said Eric as they walked through the lobby and up to the third floor.

"Wait! Over here!" shouted Rez. Eric and Talon went over to the jamacian merc and saw a bomb sitting on a planter. "Vasir, we got an inactive bomb down here. Military grade." said Eric. 'Sloppy work. You use that kind of hardware when you don't have time to plan.'

They entered a sector of offices when Eric saw a device land on the ground from around a corner. "Flashbang!" he shouted. They covered their eyes as the device detonated. They got around the corner and took out three mercs who were waiting for them. "Guess they're still looking for Feron." said Eric to the others.

The squad tredded down the rows of desks as more of the Shadow Broker's men came out of cover. Rez stabbed a merc in the throat and shot another in the head before ducking into cover. Talon took out a group of four mercs with short controlled bursts and dodged the shot fired from a rocket launcher. Eric fired off a few rounds and hit the merc in the head allowing them to move again.

They went into a partially destroyed hallway. An agent lept out and grabbed at Eric. But the experience soldier dodged and grabbed the merc around the neck from behind. There was a loud crack and Eric dropped the merc's body, "Dumbass." he muttered picking up his dropped rifle.

Passing by a gapping hole in the wall, the squad got into cover as more mercs lead by a vanguard came out. Talon pulled out a grenade as Eric and Rez returned fire, "Fire in the hole!" he shouted lobbing the explosive. They got down just as the grenade went off taking out the mercs and dropping the vanguard's armor. Eric launched a singularity sending the vanguard out the hole in the wall and plummetting toward the ground below.

They kept fighting through the offices. The Shadow Broker's men were persistant and kept the squad on their toes as they fought their way through the onslaught. They made it to a balcony overlooking the second floor and took cover as several mercs came out shooting.

Eric drew his Shuriken pistols and focused like he had when he took out the gunship a while back. Behind his goggles, his eyes glowed white and time seemed to slow down around him. He lept up with both SMGs shooting in different directions. Mercs fell all around before they could get another shot off.

When everything came back into focus, Eric didn't feel the least bit weak. _"Must be getting stronger."_ he thought to himself. _**"You are. The stronger your mind becomes to our abilities. The longer you can use them."**_ spoke one of the spirits.

Getting off the balcony, the team assembled by a door and heard to gunshots. They stormed the room when the door opened and saw a dead Salarian against the wall and a merc falling to the floor. "Damn it. If I'd been a few seconds faster, I could have stopped them." said Tela.

Eric looked over the Salarian, "Poor bastard." "Speaking of which...did you find your dead friend's body?" asked Tela.

A gunshot rang out hitting the wall next to the Spectre's head, "You mean this body?" asked Feron stepping out of the shadows with his pistol aimed at Tela. "Feron, she a Spectre mon." said Rez. "No, shes the bitch that sent those goons after me. Shes also the one who took a potshot at you and Liara." said the Drell.

"You've had a bad day Drell, so I'll let that slide. Why don't you put that gun down?" asked Tela. "I know it was you. I checked the data I collected...your on the Shadow Broker's payroll." said Feron. "It all makes sense now." said Eric pulling out his handcannon, Talon and Rez took out their guns as well, "Only someone with experience and skill could track me and Liara with such precision. Like a Spectre."

"The moment she had my position. She called the Shadow Broker's men to bomb the building to take me out." said Feron narrowing his black eyes. " "You killed a lot of innocent people here bitch." said Talon with his teeth gritted and his mandables flaired.

Tela smirked, "You got it all figured out don't you? But you over looked something." a mass effect field flared around her and she launched the energy knocking the group back. Feron was lifted off the floor and pulled toward the Spectre who went through his pockets. Coming up with a disc, she hurled the Drell into Rez before shattering the window with her biotics and launched the shards at them.

Eric threw up his arms and brought up a barrier to block the shrapnel. Acting quickly, he dropped the barrier and charged, slamming into the Asari and sending them both out of the open window.

In the air, Tela's mass energy flared as she kept them hovered in the air. The two struggled, Eric tried to grab for the disc but the Spectre slammed her feet into his chest sending him crashing to the floor.

Getting to his feet, Eric saw the Spectre running toward the exit. He ran after her, pulling out his SMGs and shooting the two mercs that came at him in the head, splattering their brains on the walls as he ran past.

Talon, Rez and Faron hopped down from the upper level just as more of Shadow Broker's men came into the large room. "Guess we got some fun?" said Rez grinning. "I'll kill more than you two." said Faron. "Your on." said Talon shooting the first merc in the head.

**A/N: The hunter has been revealed. But can Eric stop a Spectre from getting away with the data? Review.**


	9. End of the Road

**A/N: I left the last chapter at a bit of a cliffhanger. So heres the conclusion to the fight!**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

Eric pumped his legs as hard as he could as he chased after the Spectre. He couldn't let her get away with the data, it was their only chance at finding the Shadow Broker.

He ran out onto an open balcony and ducked down when several shots were fired in his direction. Peering around his cover, he saw Tela behind a chunk of debris trying to get a line on him. He took out his Incisor and fired several three round bursts.

The Spectre ducked down and brought up a barrier to block the shots. "Is that all one of Shepard's best can do?" she taunted. "Actually...no." She looked up and recieved a kick to the face. Eric had used the shots as a distraction so that he could run to her cover.

Tela stumbled back, Eric stood fast with his handcannon and his knife out in a CQC stance. The Spectre glared and swung out a kick that Eric was just barely able to dodge. The soldier swung out with his knife but was blocked by the experienced Asari.

She launched a singularity into his chest sending him flying back into a wall, "You'll have to do a lot better." Eric got to his feet and aimed his handcannon, but he was surrounded by mass energy and lifted into the air before being brought toward the Spectre. "You wanna know something?" She asked darkly, "When I'm done with you. I'm going after that mate of yours. It'll be fun watching her will fall away when I tell her that the love of her life died a horrible death at my hands."

Out of nowhere, a powerful singularity struck Tela in the chest sending her crashing into the wall, leaving a body sized imprint in the metal.

Eric fell to the ground and stood up and looked back to see Liara standing there in her combat suit. Mass energy gathered around her form with a look of hatred on her face, "You mean this mate?" she asked venomously. "How did you find us?" asked Eric grabbing his dropped handcannon and aiming at the Spectre. "I tracked your omni-tool to these coordinates. Looks like I arrived just in time." said Liara.

Tela looked at her opponents, behind her back she activated her omni-tool and hit a few keys. Her sky car swung around the building, she lept off the balcony and got into the car before flying off into the city.

Liara ran to another sky car that was parked nearby, Eric lept into the driver's seat, starting up the engine and chased after her. "Talon, its Eric. We're tracking Tela through the city by air." Eric said. 'Go get her, we got everything under control here.' replied the Turian.

Eric floored the accelerator, the hovering vehicle zoomed off around buildings and around traffic as they tried to catch up to the rogue Spectre. "We cannot let her get away with that data." said Liara. "She won't." said Eric taking the car down a tunnel. He spun around several other sky cars held up in traffic and kept after the one trying to get away from them.

Tela went around another building, "Traffic! Oncoming Traffic!" Liara exclaimed. "I got it!" Eric shouted back flying over the oncoming cars and keeping up with the chase. They turned down the back sections of a few buildings when they caught sight of something left behind by the Spectre's car. "Shes dropping proximity charges." said Liara.

Eric gritted his teeth and swirved around the explosive and going around a corner at the same time. They flew through a shipping yard, dodging more charges as they moved around several cargo carriers that were moving about.

An explosive went off on their right shaking the car, "Eric be careful! We take a direct hit and we'll go down!" said Liara. Eric focused as hard as he could on the air infront of him. There was a flash as a barrage of missiles flew past them hitting a neaby sign. "Dammit! Shes got reinforcements!" Eric shouted as they entered a tunnel.

Another sky car flew by them and stayed close to Tela's. "Liara what guns does this thing have?" asked Eric as he navigated the tunnel. "Its a taxi, it has a fare meter!" she said exasperated. "Fan-fucking-tastic." muttered Eric.

As they went through a tunnel, a truck flew out infront of them taking out the enemy sky car. "Truck!" shouted Liara. "I know." replied Eric. Their car drew closer as the truck crashed, "TRUCK!" Liara screamed. "I KNOW!" hollarded back. He spun the wheel, their sky car clung to the wall of the tunnel and dodged the wreckage by mere inches.

They flew out of the tunnel, Liara started to hyperventalate a little. "There we go." said Eric with a slight smile. "Your enjoying this?" she asked horrified. Eric looked at her oddly, "Your not?"

The car flew into oncoming traffic again. They swirved around another truck that stalled, taking several other cars with it. They pulled up along side the other sky car. Tela glared at them and slammed her vehicle into theirs. Eric and Liara were jostled from the impact, Eric got his wits back, dodging an incoming car and smashing the Spectre back.

The two cars struck each other again and again. The windshield in Eric and Liara's sky car started to crack with each impact. Eric spun the wheel hard one more time and hit the Spectre's car as hard as he could. Tela's car was launched out and struck by an oncoming car. The vehicle spun out and crashed into a nearby rooftop where it sat motionless.

Tela stumbled out of her sky car and shot a nearby security mech. "I've crashed on Azure! Send me some damn backup!" she shouted into her comm as she headed inside.

X

Eric set their car down onto the same rooftop and he and Liara piled out. "Theres Vasir's car. Come on, she can't have gotten far." said Liara. The duo started to move toward the door when another sky car flew down and started to drop reinforcements. Eric didn't give them a chance as he pulled out two grenades and threw them at the car, landing them inside the back area where the mercs were.

The car exploded taking the mercs with it, giving Eric and Liara a clear path to the door. Liara turned and lifted several others who got dropped in behind them and threw them off of the building with her biotics.

More merc started to drop in. Liara and Eric stood back to back using a combination of biotics and gunfire to lay waste to their enemies.

When everything was finally clear, they entered the small penthouse on top of the building. They passed by an Asari dancer who was begging for her life. Ignoring her, Liara looked at the floor. "A trail of blood, she must have been hurt in the crash." "That should have slown her down." said Eric as they followed the blood trail.

The purplish blood lead them through several rooms and out onto a balcony where several civilians were sitting around having drinks. Tela stumbled passed them trying to stop the bleeding from her wound.

"Vasir! It's over!" said Liara. The Spectre reached out and grabbed a young woman, pulling out her handcannon and pointing it at them. The other civilians fled during this. "Whats your name?" asked Tela. "M-Mariana." said the frightened woman. "Mariana, you want to live, don't you? Tell those people that you want to live." said the Asari.

Eric gnashed his teeth in anger. "Please..." Mariana pleaded. "We'll get you out of here safely." said Eric keeping a calm exterior. "Well thats good to hear." said Tela as she pointed her weapon at the woman's head. "All you had to do was walk away. Now it gets ugly."

"Please...I have a son." Mariana begged. "A son? I hope he gets to see you again. I've heard losing a parent is just horrific for children. Scars them for life." said Tela evilly. Eric suddently had flashbacks of when he was told of his father's death. Seeing the fear in Mariana's eyes and the tears on here face...something inside of him snapped.

A white aura started to gather around Eric shocking everyone in attendence. He raised both his hands freezing the Spectre in place. With a slight wave of his right hand, Mariana slowly drifted away from Tela's grasp and was set gently down a safe distance away.

Eric lashed his other hand out violently sending the Spectre through a nearby table. The soldier walked slowly forward toward the downed Asari.

Several Mercs entered the area and surrounded Eric with weapons drawn. "Looks like you lose after all." said Tela getting to her feet slowly. Eric's face was unseen because of his recon hood, but he wore a passive expression. Energy condensed around him and he started to levitate. He curled into a fetal position in midair as the energy grew more intense.

Before any merc could fire a shot, Eric snapped all of his limbs out and the energy was released. The mercs struck with the blast were turned to ashes and flung out into the winds.

Liara was both facinated and terrified at what she had seen. Eric lowered to the ground and turned to face Tela who was on her back again struggling to crawl back away from the being before her. "What in the Goddess are you?" she asked in fear.

Eric took two steps toward her, before he fell to the ground on his hands and knees. The energy around him vanishing. "Eric." Liara said running over to him. Eric yanked his hood off and took several deep breaths, "I think...I over did it." he gasped out.

Helping him to his feet, Liara saw the disc that was stolen from Feron and picked it up. "This is it. The data that will lead us to the Shadow Broker." said Liara.

Tela started laughing, "You're dead. The Shadow Broker has been in power for decades. He's stronger than anything you've ever faced." "Is that why you sold out the council to work for him?" asked Eric finally able to stand on his own. "You think I betrayed the council? Like Saren? Go to hell!" she spat. "The Broker's given me damn good intel over the years. Intel that saved lives and kept the Citadel safe! So if the Broker needs a few people to disappear, I'll pay that price without hesitation!"

"Spectres don't blow up buildings killing innocent people!" Eric roared. "Sure we do. We get our hands dirty so the council doesn't have to. The councilors might complain about our methods to soothe their consciences, but they never look too closely. You want to judge me? Look in the mirror. How many people have you killed in the last few hours?" she asked.

Eric looked at the dying Asari, "Thats the difference between you and me. I kill people like you, who kill others without reason. I fight for the safety of the innocent, you fight for yourself." The Spectre laughed humorlessly, "Guess my best challenge...was my downfall.." her head fell and she was gone.

X

'Eliminate T'Soni and Lachance, retrieve the data. Civilian casualties are not a concern.' spoke the message from Liara's omni-tool. "Shes dead." said Eric walking into the room. "I'm putting the data through to the _Shadowed Light_'s computers. We can be at the Shadow Broker's base in a few hours." said Liara.

She turned to her mate and noticed that he looked a little pale, "Are you well?" Eric chuckled, "Kinda worn out. I should heed the disembodied voices in my head more often." Liara looked into his eyes, "That was freightening Eric. The way you killed those mercs...its as though it wasn't you." Eric sighed, "I lost myself. I let my power take over and let it fill me up. Guess it had its side effects."

Liara walked over and hugged him, "Don't let it happen again. Please. I never want to see you that merciless again." Eric held her back, "I promise beautiful. I won't let it happen again." They looked out at the sunrise over the city. "Lets go take this bastard down." said Eric. Liara nodded.

It was time to end this.

**A/N: It has begun, the final showdown with the Shadow Broker starts next. But who do you**** want to fight him? Thats right, I'm letting you guys pick the team for the final confrontation! Who should join Eric and Liara to take down the Shadow Broker? Feron, Rez, Zen, Talon or Rico? You can only pick two since I'm making a team of four for this, so pick wisely.**


	10. A Tyrant's End

**A/N: We've reached the climax folks...the final battle against the Shadow Broker starts NOW!**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

The _Shadowed Light_ appeared just above the planet Hagalaz, the shuttle launching from the underbelly and heading into the atmosphere. 'Be careful down there guys. I'm getting a lot of screwed up readings from all the storm activity.' said Cat over the intercom.

Rez piloted the shuttle through the clouds toward a large ship that was positioned within the epicenter of the large storms. In the troop compartment, Liara looked out the viewport, "Hagalaz. The oceans boil duting the day, then snap-freeze ten minutes after sundown." "The perfect place for the Shadow Broker to hide his location. Especially if his ship follows the sunset." said Eric.

"So how the fuck do we get inside?" said Rico who was sitting next to Talon across from them. "The shuttle bay is locked down. We'll need to land on the ship and hunt for a hatch. But we can't stay outside for long. There's a constant lightning storm where the hot and cold air collide." said Liara. They all pulled on helmets and sealed their suits to block against the strong winds.

The shuttle pulled up next to the ship and the hatch opened, "Careful down dere guys! Call for back up if ya need it!" Rez called over the high winds. Eric, Liara, Talon and Rico all lept out of the shuttle and landed onto the surface of the ship. The shuttle hatch closed and the craft took off back to the _Shadowed Light_.

The team drew their weapons and started to move across the hull. "It's hard to pinpoint in this lightning, but I'm picking up signals from a communications array near the back of the ship. Theres nothing below but maintenance equipment. We have to find an entrance near the back shielding." said Liara.

They navigated across the hull, when a few glowing red orb-like devices came out of small compartments around them. "Maintenance drones." said Liara. "Why are they attacking us?" asked Eric downing one of the drones quickly. "They must think we're debris from the storm." replied Liara also taking down the drones.

When the drones were down, the squad kept moving toward the back shielding of the ship. On the long stretch of walkway toward the rear end of the ship. A lightning bolt struct two posts on either side of the platform, "Shit! Those things just lit up like a christmas tree!" shouted Rico. "Be careful around those conductors!" said Liara as a group of mercs came out of a hatch and fired upon them.

With no cover around, the team pushed forward, dropping the mercs before they could get any shots off. When the conductors powered down, the team bolted through before another bolt of lightning struck.

Rounding a corner, two LOKI mechs came out. But Talon took them down with well placed bursts from his rifle. They rounded the corner and saw more mercs and a few Maintenance drones waiting. Rico sprayed bullets everywhere, one stray round hitting a lightning capacitor causing it to explode taking the enemies with it.

The rest of the squad looked at the large man a moment, "It worked didn't it?" he asked with a shrug.

They fought through several small waves of mercs and security mechs across the ship's hull. Liara fired a singularity sending three mercs flying off of the ship and plummeting into the storm clouds below. "Looking down was a mistake." she muttered backing up from the edge.

Stepping over the dead, the squad entered a door into what looked like a chamber that housed the electrical energy absorbed from the storm. "This ship is incredible. It must have taken a long time to build in secret." said Talon as they looked around. "Guess we know what happened to the contractors then." commented Rico.

Liara surveyed around them, "Navigating this storm is brutal. If the ship's engine's stop even for a moment..." she let the though hang in the air. "Then we don't take out the engines." said Eric simply. "In any case...at least the Shadow Broker would go down with us." said the Asari. "Great...thats fucking comforting." said Rico.

They entered through another door back outside on the walkways on the side of the ship. They encountered more of the Shadow Broker's agents and attacked. Eric and Talon shot the two lightning capacitors frying the mercs with the contained energy while Liara and Rico took out the ones who avoided the explosion.

An agent got behind Liara and tried to grab her, but the Asari saw him coming and slammed her palm in to his throat launching him back a few steps before shooting him in the head with her pistol.

The rest of the trek was more of the same. More mercs and LOKI mechs came out attempting to stop them. But the squad flew through them, pressing with all their strength toward their target.

They walked down a long catwalk when Eric made a witty observation, "No guardrails. The Shadow Broker's men must love patrolling the hull." "At least it has a nice view." said Liara. Rico laughed as they approached a doorway on the otherside of the catwalk. "There! The data leads directly to the communication signals." said Liara as she ran to the door.

"Its locked. Hang on, I've got a bypass shunt program that can crack it." she said starting on the door. She passed her omni-tool over the door, painting a large holo-diaplay. "How long Liara?" Eric asked as he and the others watched her back. "I don't know Eric. I've never broken into the Shadow Broker's base before...well, not this one any way." she replied.

Mercs started to come at them, Eric, Talon and Rico took cover and fired back to keep them away from Liara as she worked on the door. Eric pulled out his sniper rifle and propped it on the wall he was using for cover, firing off several three-round bursts at the advancing agents.

Rico pulled out his grenade launcher and lobbed several explosive rounds at the advancing mercs sending bodies flying with each explosion. Talon stood in a crouched position emptying his machine gun into the agents.

"You sure that thing works?" asked Eric as he reloaded a thermal clip. "No warrenty came with it. It's illegal even on Illium." replied Liara. "So we might be screwed." said Rico swapping his grenade launcher with his assault rifle.

Mercs kept pouring out of the woodwork keeping the squad on their toes. Eric nailed another merc with a head shot as a group of rocket drones flew up into the air. "Aw shit!" he exclaimed. "I got'em!" shouted Rico taking out his rocket launcher and firing a shot. The following explosion took out half the drones and weakening the others allowing the rest of the team to bring them down.

"Their too disorganized. We'd be in trouble if they attacked at once." said Talon. "Don't give them ideas dumbass!" shouted Eric. Liara joined them after a while and added her own bullets to defend the onslaught. The fight seemed to be endless, but they kept it up, going through thermal clips like clockwork at the Shadow Broker's men fell left and right.

Behind them, the door opened. "Inside now!" Eric shouted. The team backed into the door keeping the mercs back. Liara sealed the door preventing them from following. They contiuned into the ship, getting into cover just as a missile exploded against a wall. Eric pulled off his recon hood and took out his Mattock rifle before he shot the heavy merc before they could shoot again.

"More guards? How many does the Shadow Broker have?" asked Liara as she shot another merc. "Enough." Eric summed up as they took out the remaining resistance. They pushed into the corridors, through the prison area, and into several rooms. Not a single merc was left standing as the squad blasted, shot, and blew their way through.

They made it to one final door and entered the room beyond. It was a wide room, dimly lit save for what appeared to be a large amoung of pure energy above them behind a reinforced glass dome. In the back of the room was a large desk with several displays. And behind the desk, sat a large hulking figure.

The squad stood a ways away from the desk and aimed their weapons at the creature before them. It was huge. Bigger then a Krogan and looked even stronger. Its head was a dark red color with eight black beady eyes. Large horns adorned the top of its head with small spikes on the sides. This thing...was something else entirely.

A large, upside down Y-shaped mouth full of sharp teeth twitched, possably in an irritated manor as it put its arms on the large desk and steepled it's fingers together. Eric glanced a Liara who glanced at him before going back to the creature.

"Here for me?" the Shadow Broker asked in a deep, grave voice. "Wreckless, even for you Lachance." "That bombing on Illium wasn't very subtle." Eric said back. "Extreme...but necessary." said the Shadow Broker. "No it wasn't! Dozens of innocent lives were lost because of that!" exclaimed Liara.

"Dr. T'Soni. Your interference caused all this. The Drell betrayed me, he was to pay the price. The civilian's got in the way." said the Shadow Broker. "It'll be hard to run a ship with all your help dead." said Eric keeping his handcannon trained on his head. "They're replaceable. Your arrival is barely an interruption." replied the creature. "Enough talk. My operations are too crucial to be hindered by a band of misfits."

"You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide." said Liara. "You travel with fascinating companions doctor." said the Shadow Broker. "Talon, Rico Santigo whom both have high bounties that are unclaimed. And Lachance, the one who possesses the lost power of the Protheans."

Liara's glare intensified, "Your not putting your hand on anyone!" "Its pointless to challenge me Asari. I know your every secret, while you fumble in the dark." said the Shadow Broker not at all threatened. "Its that right?" replied Liara. "You are a Yahg, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their homeworld for massacring the council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which probably means you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago, then took over."

"I'm guessing you were taken from your homeworld by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave...or a pet. How am I doing?" asked Liara finishing with a smirk.

The Shadow Broker stood up. The squad took a step back seeing the Yahg's full size as he towered over them. "Oh...shit." mumbled Rico. In one swift motion, the Shadow Broker snapped the large desk in half and hurled a chunk of it at them. Eric grabbed Liara and dove aside, Talon threw himself back and rolled.

Rico couldn't move in time and was struck with the debris, hitting the wall and laid unconsious on the floor while the others got the their feet. the Shadow Broker let out a loud roar before pulling out a large, custom made Revenant machine gun and opened fire on them.

The remaining team took cover and fired back, their rounds being absorbed by the Shadow Broker's shields. "Talon! Whats Rico's status?" asked Eric reloading his rifle. "Hes out cold! But alive!" Talon called back using his own Revenant charged with disruptor ammo to drop the Shadow Broker's shields faster.

They eventually shattered the Yahg's shields and the rounds started to cause damage. The Shadow Broker backed up a few steps before charging ahead. Seeing this, Liara fired a wave of mass energy that stopped him in his tracks.

The large alien shook his head before charging again with more fury. Liara and Eric managed to dive aside, as the low wall they were behind was shattered like cheep glass when the hulking figure crashed through it. "Shit! Hes worse than a Krogan!" shouted Eric as he started shooting again.

The Shadow Broker staggered for a second under the assault. Then he knelt down and a massive fortification shield appeared around him. Liara fired several rounds, but they all bounced harmlessly off the heavy shielding. "The shields kinetically sensitive! Energy and projectiles are bouncing off!" she said frustrated. Eric glared at the Yahg and cracked his knuckles, "Then we do this the hard way!"

He charged forward and punched the Shadow Broker as hard as he could in the face causing the shield to drop and the creature's head to snap back. Eric struck again with a right-cross, then again with an uppercut that forced the Shadow Broker back a couple of steps. Eric charged and lept into the air with his arm cocked back for another hit.

The Shadow Broker brought out his omni-tool and a shield made of energy formed on his left arm. He swung the shield out and struck Eric hard sending him flying back to the other side of the room. Eric got to his feet while the others got up and attacked. The Shadow Broker hid behind his shield and fired around it.

Liara fired a singularity causing the Shadow Broker's shield to go wide, giving them an opening. Eric took out a handful of grenades and primed them before throwing them all. Several explosions went off around the Shadow Broker, a few of them going off under his shield dropping him to a kneeling position.

His fortification shield appeared again, Eric and Talon ran at him. Talon smashed the Yahg in the face with the butt of his rifle. Eric followed him with a swift roundhouse kick to the chest. The Shadow Broker brought up his shield and used it to keep Eric back. Talon went to hit him again, but the large creature backhanded him with his large fist launching him to the floor.

Liara charged forward, mass energy gathering around her. The Shadow Broker sent out a shockwave from his shields sending both she and Eric flying backwards. Liara got up and looked above them at them, "If you can get him to bring up that shield again. I've got an idea." she said to Eric.

Eric followed her line of sight and nodded realizing what she was thinking. He looked across to Talon and gave a hand signal, the Turian nodded as they focused fire on the Shadow broker again. The creature's shields started to drop rapidly again, but this time the Shadow Broker wasn't going to just stand around.

He charged with a loud roar straight at Liara. Eric shoved her aside, but was struck hard with the energy shield on the Yahg's arm. His rifle skidded away from him as he tried to bet back on his feet. He suddently saw the barrel of a large rifle in his face.

"You and your subordinates will die here. You cannot win." the Shadow Broker growled. "Thats what you think you ugly sonovabitch!" shouted a voice. The Shadow Broker shook when an explosion went off of his back causing him to roar out in pain. Looking past the Yahg, Eric saw Rico standing again with his rocket launcher in hand. Rico fired again, the following explosion giving Eric the opprotunity to pull out his knife. He lept up and stabbed the blade into one of the Shadow Broker's many eyes.

The Yahg let out another loud roar and clutched at the knife sticking out of his face. Eric scooped up his rifle and started shooting again, the others followed suit driving him to the center of the room under the glass dome. "We have him!" shouted Liara. Eric charged forward, wisps of white mass energy started to gather around him as he charged it all to his right fist.

He punched the Shadow Broker as hard as he could, the feeling of bones breaking under the contact. Black colored blood flew out of the Shadow Broker's mouth and he staggered back under the glass dome. "LIARA NOW!" Eric shouted. Liara charged her own mass energy and fired a blast into the dome, she raised her arms and then brought them down hard. The dome shattered and energy shot down like a pillar of flames directly down onto the Yahg.

The Shadow Broker struggled under the energy the rushed over him. He sent one last glare at the squad as his form started to glow. With one last roar, the Yahg exploded in a large ball of energy sending everyone flying onto their backs. The ashes of what was once one of the most powerful figures in the galaxy faded in the air.

X

Liara breathed heavily from her spot on the ground, until she felt someone pick her up and set her on her feet. Eric smiled at her and started chuckling. Liara started to laugh with him just as Rico and Talon joined them, all four laughing uncontrollably after the heavy fight they had just had.

When they calmed down and relaxed, "So the fuckers gone for good huh?" asked Rico. "Indefinately." said Talon.

Suddently a voice rang out, 'Shadow Broker, this is Operative Murat. We had a momentary connection failure. Can you confirm status?' They walked over ot a large terminal that had a wall of holo-screens just as another screen became active, 'Operative Shora requesting update. Are we still online?' Then another, 'Shadow Broker, I've lost our feed. We are online and awaiting instructions.'

"This isn't good." said Talon as more screens became activated. Liara looked at all the screens before she bowed her head. She raised her head after a few moments and walked up to the terminal, bringing up a small screen infront of her. "This is the Shadow Broker." she said, her voice sounding just like the dead Shadow Broker's. "The situation is under control. We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware. It disrupted communications momentarily. However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures. I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day. Shadow Broker, out"

Liara waved the screen away, everyone looked at her wide eyed. "...woah" was all Rico could say. "Everyone who's ever seen him in person is dead. So..." she paused. "Your the new Shadow Broker." said Talon in slight awe.

"Is taking over for the Shadow Broker a good idea?" asked Eric. "It was that, or lose everything. His contacts, trading sources. Those will really help us. With the Shadow Broker's information network...i can...i can..." Liara couldn't seem to find the words.

"We'll...go check the status outside." said Talon as he shoved Rico back toward the door they came in.

Liara put her hands over her eyes and started to sob. Eric walked up to her and put a hand on her arm. She turned around and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "It's over...finally. After all this time..." she said silently. Eric nodded, "Its over. Everythings going to be alright." he said gently. They remained in the same position for a little while before Liara backed up and wiped the tears away, "Lets see what we got." she said. Eric smirked and followed her to the large terminal.

"No safeguards or user restrictions. It's like he never anticipated anyone but himself being here." said Liara. "Guess he was to cocky for his own good." commented Eric. Liara looked back at her mate and smiled, "And now...its all ours." "What do you think he has in all of this?" asked Eric motioning to the terminal. "I'm not sure, I'll have to go through the files...but..." she looked at Eric again, "Is it wrong, that part of me wants this? With the Shadow Broker's network, we can help Shepard stop the Collectors and the Reapers when the time comes. I could turn this operation into something better."

Eric walked up to her, "Liara. If you can turn this into something to help us put an end to the Reapers...then I'm behind you 110%." Liara shed another tear, "Thank you...my love." Eric smiled and cupped her azure cheek, "Thats what other halfs are for."

Eric brought his face forward and kissed his mate, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed back. After well over a year of fighting...they had put an end to the Shadow Broker. And a new one had risen from the ashes to use his once powerful infulence for good.

**A/N: There you have it...the Shadow Broker's dead, Liara has assumed control, and everything seems just a little brighter in the universe. There is one more chapter to this fic before I wrap it up. So stay tuned guys!**


	11. Epilogue

**A/N: Its been a long ride for such a short fic, but heres the Epilogue of Semper Fi: Fall of Shadows!**

**I don't own Mass Effect**

Three months had passed since the Shadow Broker's downfall, and when Liara took control. Since then, the crew of the _Shadowed Light_ had started to run the base that the team had cleared out. They had managed to install a large kinetic barrier to go around the ship so that the _Shadowed Light_ could dock without being effected by the storms in the planet's atmosphere.

In that time, Liara had gone through a good percentile of the files that the Shadow Broker once had. Apparently, he had had a complete catalog on the Collectors and the Reapers. He had hands in various species governments across the galaxy. And had literally thousands of agents stationed all over the place. Given the incentive, Liara could start an inter-species war in five minutes if she wanted to.

Things had changed. Now they had a strong edge against the Collectors when Shepard was fully revived within the next two months.

The crew had changed as well. Sev made a complete recovery and was still onboard with them every step of the way. Feron joined their team as well, being an experienced double agent gave him an edge none of them really had.

They had also garnered new recruits. Terran, a Salarian who was very proificiant in science and technology was brought onboard and was given full rain over the research teams on the base and ship. And Micka, an expert medic and biologist who was in the Alliance for a few years before being discharged. She could heal almost any type of wound and could make her own medicines.

They were good additions to the team, and Eric and Liara was glad to have them.

Eric was given the job as Liara's second in command. And he had control of a good percentile of the personal army under their control. Overall, if knowledge truly was power, then the couple were the most powerful beings in the galaxy.

X

Walking through the base in simple civilian clothes, Eric felt like a General walking through a mess hall on a base. Everytime he passed someone, they stopped and saluted him. Being the High Commander of the Shadow Broker's army had a lot of good perks. But unlike the last Shadow Broker, he knew Liara wouldn't abuse the great deal of power that was given to her. And neither would he.

Waving his omni-tool over the holo-lock on the door before him. He walked into the room beyond after the lock read his identification.

Inside, the large office that was a battlefield just three months ago, had been rebuilt and referbished to Liara's liking. Said Asari was currently standing before the terminal wall talking with one of her many agents. "Have a report for me by the end of the day." she said into the voice distorter as she ended the link.

Eric wrapped his arms around her from behind, she smiled and relaxed into his embrace. "Working hard...Ms. Shadow Broker?" he asked grinning. Liara giggled, "Of course. Its a dream job. One worthy of pride." she said turning in his arms and kissing him.

She pulled back and looked to the side for a moment deep in thought. Eric tilted his head. She had been like this the last two days, it seemed like she was in serious thought about something but felt hesitant to tell him what it was.

"Liara? Are you okay?" he asked gently. She removed herself from his arms and walked to the desk that had been rebuilt. "I have been...thinking about something of great importance. Something that could change us. For better or worse." she said as she looked at him, a hint of nervousness and fear in her eyes. "You can tell me anything beautiful. I promise, whatever it is, I will never stop loving you." Eric said walking up to her and holding her hands in his own.

Liara bit her lip before looking up into the emerald green orbs that she had fallen in love with.

Reaching an azure hand out, she took his, and placed it over her flat stomach. "I'm pregnant."

Eric's world came to a sceeching hault when the two words were said. His eyes widened, mouth agape as he tried to process what had just come out..a baby?...he was going to be a dad? "A-Are you sure?" he asked studdering, mouth dry.

Liara nodded, "Yes. Our last...time together. I felt something shift within me. I didn't notice it fully because we were melded, but afterword it all became clear. I am carrying our daughter."

Eric was still trying to sort everything in his head. A child...a little girl..._his_ and _Liara's_ little girl...they were going be have a family. He looked at Liara who watched him in silence. Fear etched across her face.

His face broke into a mild wide grin. Picking up his mate and spinning her around he started to laugh loudly, "This is great!" he exclaimed happily. Liara was shocked beyond words, "You are okay with this?" she asked when he set her down. Eric's grin didn't faulter, "Its a shock, believe me. But...I couldn't be happier Liara. We're having a little girl."

Liara smiled widely as well, "I wasn't expecting a daughter so soon. But I am glad that it is _our_ daughter." she said putting her hands over her stomach. Eric did the same, an aura of complete bliss surrounding both of them.

Suddently, Eric remembered what was to come. The Collectors...the Reapers...if he wanted to make sure that Liara and their daughter were safe, he would have to drive the bastards back into the black hole they crawled out of.

Liara noticed his shift in demeanor, "Eric? I though you were happy about this?" she asked confused. Eric smiled at her, "I am beautiful. Its just now, I have an even stronger purpose in helping Shepard destroy the Reapers." he rubbed his hand acrossed Liara's stomach, "I want a peaceful future for her...for us. I will do whatever it takes to keep you both safe."

"Things will be more difficult. But I believe that we can handle anything that comes at us." said Liara. Eric smirked, "Damn right. Nothing will get in the way of our happiness. No mercs, No humanoid bugs...and no giant ancient machines will stop us."

The Asari smiled at her mate and hugged him. "Should we tell the others?" Eric chuckled, "We will eventually. Although I don't know when the jokes of how I, 'knocked up the Shadow Broker', will start." Liara giggled, "I think you humans have a saying. 'Who gives a shit what others say.'." Eric was shocked, "Holy hell, Liara T'Soni just cursed!"

Liara giggled again and pulled Eric into a heated kiss. He smiled against her lips and went along with it. Shepard would be back in two months, and the fight with the Collectors would begin. But for now, Eric wanted to be with his mate, and think about the future they would have when the Reapers were delt with. And the good life they would have with their daughter.

To be continued...

**A/N:...what a twist huh? Being a dad will sure as hell drive Eric to putting an end to the Reaper threat when Shepard comes back. I'm already starting work on Semper Fi II Remember this wasn't much of a sequel, just a quick fic to fill in the 2 year gap between stories. Keep a look out for the sequel folks, cuz its coming soon!**


	12. Semper Fi II Trailer

COMING SOON

**(If you by any chance have "I will not bow" by Breaking Benjamin on hand, you may wanna listen to it when reading this)**

_They've killed one of the best of the best._

Shepard's body drifting through space toward the planet below as the _Normandy _exploded.

_But not all of them._

Eric sat with his head down, eyes closed. His head shot up up and his eyes snapped open.

**FALL!**

**Now the dark begins to rise**

**Save your breath, its far from over**

**Leave the lost and dead behind**

**Now's your chance to run for cover**

The squad stood in the middle of an empty colony. No life could be seen. Eric saw a dropped teddy bear that must have belonged to a child.

**I don't want to change the world,**

**I just want to leave it colder**

**Light the fuse and burn it up**

**Take the path that leads to nowhere**

**All is lost again, but I'm not giving in...**

Eric stood strong with his team, weapons ready to face the oncoming mercs ahead of them.

**I will not bow! I will not break!**

**I will shut the world away**

**I will not fall, I will not fade**

**I will take your breath away**

Bodies incased in white energy flew in every direction as bullets ripped through them without resistance.

**FALL!**

**Watch the end through dying eyes**

**Now the dark is taking over**

**Show me where forever dies**

**Take the fall and run to heaven**

A Collector looked down at a frozen colonist as it sealed the pod they were in.

**All is lost again, but I'm not giving in...**

Eric stood with Shepard and the rest of the crew as they prepared for the Collectors to attack.

**I will not bow! I will not break!**

**I will shut the world away**

**I will not fall, I will not fade**

**I will take your breath away**

**And I'll survive, paranoid**

**I have lost the will to change**

**And I'm not proud, cold blooded fate**

**I will shut the world away**

A battered and bloody Eric stood weaponless in the middle of a large group of Collectors and Husks. White energy gathered around him and blasted outward when he cried out in fury, sending the enemies flying and reducing them to ashes in the process.

**I will not bow! I will not break!**

**I will shut the world away**

**I will not fall, I will not fade**

**I will take your breath away**

Eric aimed his pistols at the Cerberus agents standing around him while Shepard ordered them to put the guns down.

**And I'll survive, paranoid**

**I have lost the will to change**

**And I'm not proud, cold blooded fate**

**I will shut the world away**

Eric, infused with the energy in his body, stood with Shepard as they starred down the possessed Collector before them. **"You will fail." **said Harbinger. **"No...we won't."** said Eric. The two soldiers charged the Collector looking to end the fight once and for all.

**FALL!**

**SEMPER FI II**

**A/N: I don't own Mass Effect or Breaking Benjamin.**


End file.
